


After the End

by JennyTale



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Cute, Eventual Smut, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Love, Multi, Sex, Sexual Tension, Skeleton Boyfriends, Slow Burn, Sweet, Timeline, kiss, timeline jumping
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-10
Updated: 2016-11-23
Packaged: 2018-05-25 20:36:09
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 30
Words: 106,612
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6209185
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JennyTale/pseuds/JennyTale
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>An unusual Frisk falls into the Underground. Sans can't run from his sins. Together, they fuck shit up.  *megalovania intensifies*</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. HIS ROOM

**Author's Note:**

> POV's switch between Frisk and Sans. Frisk is twenty five years old. Enjoy this trash. Trash is good. I hope you like skeletons.  
> Heh.

_I wonder what else I can find here?_ I think, as I stroll through Snowdin for the hundredth time. I’ve explored every inch of this place, and not just Snowdin. Waterfall, Hotland. Even the Ruins. Sometimes when everyone is busy, I start my search once again for something I might have missed. 

And my search always leads me here. To their house. Upstairs. Standing in front of his room. 

I’ve always been welcome in this house and they leave it open for me. But _his_ room has always been locked. 

When Papyrus first brought me here, my eyes were immediately drawn to that room with the colorful flames silently beckoning to me from under the door. And ever since I’ve wanted nothing, nothing, NOTHING more than to see inside that room. 

But it’s Sans’ room. 

Anyone else and I would have just asked. And everyone else I have asked has been excited to show me their place. 

But Sans....

He’s always smiling. Always. And he’s never been mean to me, or angry. If anything he’s been comforting, helpful at times. But there were times when I thought I saw something else in those empty sockets. Or, more accurately, nothing at all. 

I shiver at the memory and try to shrug the dread from my shoulders. 

And so, here I am, once again. 

I knock on the door and of course no one answers. I’ve only ever seen Sans come out of his room once. I’m not even sure if he actually lives here. I reach for the doorknob. The multicolored flames burn into my vision and my heart begins to race. 

I’m expecting the halt, the part where the knob stops turning because of the lock mechanism. But it keeps turning. My breath catches in my chest. It turns all the way. I can feel the door ready to swing forward. 

I freeze, suddenly afraid. I’ve been waiting for this moment from the beginning. But the memory of those empty eye sockets creeps into my mind and that horrible feeling crawls up my back again. 

_“You would be dead where you stand.”_

My heart is basically about to burst. I’m terrified, but I’m so god damned curious. I have to go in. I have to. It’s going to drive me insane if I don’t, and this is probably my only chance. 

Finally, I throw caution to the wind and push the door open. 

The flames disappear in an instant, and I’m presented with a very ordinary room. The lights are off, and moonlight filters in through the blinds on the window on the far side of the room. A bed sits underneath the window, and a closet with the doors taken off is on the right. A few articles of clothing hang haphazardly from hangers. 

And that’s it. 

I’m a bit disappointed. A lot disappointed, actually. 

I walk into the room and look for a lightswitch on the wall, but I can’t find one. But it’s not too dark because of the moonlight. I look around me at the empty walls. No posters, no pictures. Nothing. The bed covers are crumpled and messy, but something about how cold they look makes me feel like this bed hasn’t been slept in for a long time. There’s nothing in the closet except a hoodie and a few pairs of pants. 

_Well, this has been a waste of time._

I turn around to head out of the room. But Sans is standing in the doorway. The room suddenly feels hot and cold at the same time.

“How did you get in here?” He asks, stepping toward me. 

He’s smiling, as always, but he is not happy. His pupils have gone out, and in the dark of the room those sockets look even deeper than usual. 

“Oh my god, Sans, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean--I wasn’t--” I scramble to explain, but my voice isn’t working right. My throat feels tight, and I can’t get a full breath into my lungs. 

“HOW. Did you. GET IN HERE?” He asks again, stepping closer. His ever present smile falters just a bit. 

I back away and my knees buckle when they hit the bed. I have nowhere to go. 

“Sans you’re scaring me.” I whisper, desperate for any hint of the Sans I thought I knew. 

“Answer me.” he demands. In his left eye socket I swear I can see the outline of an actual eye, not just a pupil. 

“It was open.” I tell the truth. I have to tell the truth. He won’t let me lie. 

He shifts his weight to the back of his heels and surveys me for a moment. 

“It was open.” he repeats. 

“Open.” I nod. 

He glares at me for a moment longer. And then, just like that, with those shining pupils, he’s back to regular Sans. 

“Well, welcome to my room.” he shrugs. 

“Um...thanks.” I say, still shaking. 

“Hey, look, kiddo, I didn’t mean to scare you--” he says, reaching out to put a hand on my head like he usually does. 

I flinch away from him. He stops with his hand midway. His smile melts completely away and now he just looks… defeated. His arm drops back to his side.

“I’m sorry, Frisk.” he says, looking at me with some sort of despair. I like this Sans even less than the scary one. 

“It’s just that, none of the others have ever been able to get in here.” he explains. 

I’m confused. 

“You’ve never let Papyrus in here?” I ask. 

He smirks. “I don’t mean Papyrus. I mean the other humans.” 

“Oh.” I say. That was a touchy subject for everyone. I try not to ask too much about the humans who came before me. I’m not really sure what happened to them...I mean, I know they died, but I’m not sure how...which kind of creeps me out. 

“What did you think I was...why were you so...mad?” I ask.

For an instant I see that faint outline of an eye in his left socket. 

“I don’t know.” he shrugs. And now that I’m no longer afraid I feel annoyed with him. 

“You’ve never liked me, have you?” I ask bluntly. He raises his eyebrows--or you know, where his eyebrows would be. 

“Course I like ya. If I didn’t, you wouldn’t be standing in my room.” he reasons. 

“Or I’d be dead. Isn’t that right? If it hadn’t been for Toriel.” I snap at him. He scratches the back of his head and shrugs again. 

“Why??? What have I ever done to you?? From the moment I fell into this place I’ve been attacked by monsters I don’t even know--even my friends tried to kill me at first and I never fought back.” I argue. 

“Yea...this time.” he says ominously. 

I stare at him, completely baffled. 

“This time? what do you mean, this time??” I demand. 

“You’ve been here before.” he says. His voice digs into my soul. 

“...what do you mean? I’ve never been here before.” 

“You have. Several times. Hundreds of times. Thousands maybe…” he trails off. He looks past me, out the window. The moonlight leaks through the blinds and paints stripes on the dusty floor. 

He’s insane. He has to be. He’s fucking insane. 

But something deep inside me tells me he’s right. 

That feeling I thought was dread seems clearer to me now. It weighs on my shoulders like the pressure at the bottom of the ocean. It’s not dread. 

“What...what did I do?” I ask, tears pooling in my eyes. He looks away from me entirely, his brow furrowing. 

“Look, Frisk, we don’t need to talk about this. Let’s go outside, it’s a beautiful day.” He turns away to walk out the door. 

“Sans!!!” I plead. He stops. 

“Tell me.” 

He sighs. He does not turn around. 

“You’ve killed us all before. Every single one of us. Sometimes not all at once. Sometimes just one of us. Sometimes just a few. Sometimes…” he stops. 

“Why?” I ask, clutching at my chest. My heart doesn’t feel so...real...anymore. 

“I dunno. Morbid curiosity I guess.” 

“But how would I do that? Why don’t I remember?” 

He turns to face me again. On his face is absolute self disgust. 

“That’s on me.” is all he offers. I don’t know why, but I know I will not get anymore information out of him on this subject. 

“So you’ll never trust me?” I cry. 

He smiles sadly and walks back to me. He places a hand on my head. 

“Course I do. You’re my little buddy. Now stop your worryin’ and let’s go to Grillby’s.” 

I start to sob, and I wrap my arms around him. His body stiffens for a fraction of a second, and then he relaxes and his arms envelop me. 

“Don’t you worry, kid. We’re gonna have a good time.” 

This time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Edited by my friend, Anna. THANK YOU.


	2. THE STRAIGHT AND NARROW

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> These first few chapters are just blips in their shared timelines. A more coherent story line with reveal itself in time.

He was walking in the forest when he heard it. A scream, “NOO!!” 

It came from the Ruins. He knew who it was. He closed his eyes. 

Again. 

He teleported to the spot where he knew she was. Sadness filled him, like it did every time, as he saw her kneeling there on the ground, clutching something in her hands. She was sobbing. He knelt down next to her. 

“Hey kid.” She jumped, startled at his sudden appearance. 

“Sans...Sans I’m so sorry...I didn’t m-mean to!” Her tears ran so fast from her eyes that he wasn’t sure if she could see him clearly. 

“What happened, buddy?” he asked, laying a skeletal hand on her shoulder. She mistook it for comfort, when really he was just making sure he had a hold of her. 

“I was walking to Toriel’s...I t-tripped and I fell on it. It was so t-tiny I didn’t even see it--” She dissolved into uncontrollable sobs and couldn’t get anything else out. She opened her fists and dust puffed away from her palms. Sans closed his eyes and gripped her shoulder. 

Again. 

“Hey, listen, it’s ok. It was an accident,” he said. His heart wasn’t in it. All she could do was sob. 

He knew what he had to do. He prepared an attack. 

“I’m so sorry…” she whispered. 

“I know. I know, kid. Come here.” he took her into his arms. Without hesitation she returned the embrace. He patted her back. She never saw it coming. 

His heart broke as his attack broke hers. 

She pulled back, bloody bones sticking out from her abdomen. Her eyes met his just before she disappeared. That look that killed him every time. 

Every time. 

He knelt on the floor where she left him, shaking, until he was thrown back in time to her last save. In his room, one hour earlier. He took a moment to compose himself, then teleported to where she was.

“Hey Sans!” she smiled when she saw him walking next to her. 

“Hey kid. What’re you up to?” 

“Going to see Toriel.” she looked at him with that look. That look that melted his heart every time. 

“Cool, I’ll go with you.” he grinned and took her hand. She looked surprised, like she always did. 

“Watch yer step, it’s slippery.” he said. She nodded and looked forward, blushing. 

_God dammit, Frisk, you don’t know how much time I spend keeping you on the straight and narrow._

He wouldn’t let her become Chara. 

Not again.


	3. ME NEITHER, KID

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> POV switches a lot without warning.

She rests her arms on the counter of my sentry station. She’s giggling at me. I like making her laugh. Especially when she’s sad. She never admits it, but I know anguish when I see it. 

“What you up to today, kiddo?” I ask. She sighs and looks up at me. 

“Nothin’ much. Might visit Napstablook.” 

There it is, in her eyes. 

“Why don’t you come by my house later? After my shift.” I ask. 

She smiles and for a moment her eyes light up. 

“Yea, ok!” she agrees. 

 

I’m waiting in my room when there’s a knock on the front door downstairs. 

“SANS!!! THERE’S SOMEONE AT THE DOOR!!!” Papyrus yells too loudly from the kitchen.

“Yes, THANK YOU.” I yell back. I roll my eyes. As if I didn’t know she was here before she knocked. I teleport downstairs and open the door. 

\---

“Hey there.” he grins and winks at me. I smile back shyly. 

“Well don’t just stand there, get in here.” he stands aside. Why am I so fucking nervous? I’ve been in this house a bunch of times. It’s just _he_ ’s never invited me here. It was always Papyrus. Or “they” would invite all of us over. 

But never just Sans inviting just me. 

“Oh, human! I didn’t know you were coming! welcome!” Papyrus calls from the kitchen doorway. I wave back at him. 

“Hey punk!” Undyne pops her head out to grin at me. I stick my tongue out at her playfully. 

“Let’s leave them to it. I assume you don’t want to be on fire any time soon?” Sans says, grabbing my elbow and steering me toward the staircase. 

“I’ve never been on fire, and I’d like to keep it that way, yes.” I say, letting him lead me away. 

Wait. 

“Where are we going??” I ask, stopping. He turns back to me, still holding onto my arm. 

“Where do you think?” he asks. I stare back at him. I’ve been here so many times it feels like my own house. But never, not ONCE have I ever seen Sans’ room. I even asked one time and he shut me down immediately, like I had asked to burn down his house or something. I decided never to ask again. 

But we were about to walk up the stairs. Why would he take me up there? Surely he wasn’t taking me to Papyrus’ room??? 

Sans grows impatient. “Are you coming up to my room, or not??” he asks, tugging on my arm. 

“Your room?” I say, suspicious. Was this a trick? He's fond of tricks. He lets go of me and bonks me playfully on the head. 

“Fine, kid, stay down here with the explosion twins.” He puts his hands in his pockets and climbs the stairs. I stand at the foot of the stairs for a moment before I follow him up. 

\---

I’m snickering as I head up the stairs. The look on her face was priceless. She really doesn’t believe she’s about to see the inside of my room. She’s been eyeing my flaming door since the day she set foot in this house. 

I don’t let people in my room. Humans, I mean. Too risky. 

But THIS human…

She follows me up the stairs, finally, and I stop outside my door. 

“Jeez, don’t look so excited.” I smirk. She narrows her eyes at me. 

“You’re adorable.” I say, grinning at her. She looks surprised, bless her. I open my door before I have to explain myself. 

“After you, m’lady.” I mock a bow. 

\---

Oh my god. He’s actually letting me into his room. Before he can change his mind, I walk in. 

It’s very anticlimactic. 

The room is totally bare, except for a boring twin sized mattress without a bed frame and a closet with a pile of clothes covering the floor. There’s a small window above the mattress. 

I turn around and cross my arms, glaring at him. 

“Seriously?” 

He tilts his head to the side. “What?” he smirks. 

“This is not your room.” I argue. 

“Really? Well shit, nobody told me.” he walks in and closes the door behind him. 

“There’s nothing in here!” I stamp my foot. 

“UM, I’m in here. You’re in here.” he says. Something in his voice makes me blush. 

“Come on, Sans. I’m not in the mood for tricks.” 

“Frisk, chill out.” he says, ruffling my hair. I hate that. 

\---

She likes it when I mess up her hair. She pretends like she doesn’t, but she does. 

“So, be honest, what do you think of it?” I ask. She still doesn’t believe me. And I don’t blame her. It’s not what everyone expects. I always just say I’m not much for decorating. But really, I just don’t care. It’s all going to be reset anyways. 

“You’re serious?” she starts to realize. 

I nod. She looks around again. 

“It’s so….sad.” she observes. 

“Says the saddest girl I know.” I don’t force any mirth into my voice this time. She turns to look at me. She seems startled. 

\---

“What do you mean?” I ask, startled. I thought I hid it so well. 

“You’re heartbroken,” he states. He reaches out a skeletal hand to tuck my hair back behind my ears. He always does that after he messes it up. 

“How do you know?” I say, holding very still. 

“Takes one to know one,” he shrugs. 

“What are you heartbroken about?” I ask, afraid to speak too loudly and break the spell. 

“We’re talking about you, not me.” he says, dropping his hand and walking away to dig through the heap of clothes (whether clean or dirty, who could tell?) at the floor of his closet. I always feel a sense of emptiness after having him so close. He finds what he’s looking for and returns to me, holding out his hand. 

“Here. I think this belongs to you.” I look at what he’s holding, and my heart drops into my stomach.It’s my cellphone. Not the one Toriel gave me, the one I had before. 

\---

She snatches the phone from my hand. The look on her face makes me feel even more hollow inside. 

“Where did you...get this?” she asks, shaking slightly. She’s not looking at me. 

“In the flowers where you fell.” I say. It’s not technically a lie. 

“Why didn’t you give it back???” She raises her voice and clutches the phone like she hates it. 

“Who’s Jenny?” I ask instead of answering. She snaps her eyes to mine. She’s about to cry. She’s angry. 

“You...shouldn’t have...looked…” she says through clenched teeth. A flash of a memory that never happened, hundreds of resets ago, in the judgement hall. Ah, but this isn’t that girl. Not THIS time. 

“Why did you climb the mountain, Jenny?” I ask. 

\---

“Don’t call me that!!!” I scream at him. I’m trying to break the phone, trying to crush it with my hands. I don’t ever want to remember. I don’t ever want to go back there. 

His hands cover mine and I drop the phone. He pulls me to him and holds me there. I sob into his jacket. 

“You never wanted to go home, did ya kid?” he says next to my ear. 

“I am home.” I find myself saying. He pulls back and studies my face quizzically. I can’t see him too clearly though the tears, but he seems concerned at that statement. 

“What?” he asks. I try to blink away the tears from my vision. I reach up to wipe them away with my hand, but he swats my hand away and dries my tears with the cuff of his sleeve. 

“I don’t ever want to go back.” I whisper. “Please don’t make me go back.” 

His face is so close to mine. 

\---

Her eyes are all puffy and red. Her nose is kinda drippy. But I don’t mind. She’s the prettiest thing I’ve ever seen. 

“You can stay here forever, if ya want,” I say. I hold her face in my hands and kiss her full on the mouth. After a moment I pull back. I let out a little laugh at the mirrored shock on her face. 

“I….I didn’t know you could do that!” she giggles, her sorrow temporarily forgotten. 

“Me neither, kid.” I grin. 

And suddenly, I have the urge to decorate my room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aw :)


	4. WELCOME TO THE UNDERGROUND

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> POV switches a lot.

She slammed the front door with all of her might. And into the dark she ran blindly. Voices called after her, but she didn’t care about them anymore. They didn’t believe in her, none of them. 

“You can’t,” they always said. “You can’t.” 

She stumbled into the woods. The branches scratched at her face, and the roots grabbed at her shoes. She stomped through puddles. She fell a few times. 

_I don’t care anymore_ , she thought. 

People said this mountain was cursed. That if you climbed to the top, you didn’t come back. 

_Good. I don’t ever want to come back._

Her cellphone rang, but she left it in her pocket. Her breathing became ragged the further she climbed. Truth be told it wasn’t really a “mountain.” More of a steep hill. It was a bit treacherous though, because there were several places where the earth had cracked and separated. If you weren’t careful, you would indeed fall in and probably die. 

Once her eyes adjusted, the starlight guided her easily to the top of the hill. She stood on the edge of a large canyon and looked down into the darkness. Her cellphone rang, but she ignored it. 

_I don’t want to go back. I’m already dead. I can’t do this anymore._

She stepped closer to the edge. 

_Are you really ready to die?_ said a voice in her head. She couldn’t tell if it was trying to help or not. 

“I don’t want to die, but I don’t want to live like this.” She said aloud. If she went back. Back to her sister’s house. Back to failure. Back to a half life. She couldn’t stand it anymore. And the prospect of a better future seemed so far away it might as well not exist. 

_Are you really ready to die?_ the voice said again. 

Her cellphone rang. 

She stepped closer to the edge. 

Something pushed her over, and she fell. 

\---

He stood in the shadows, watching the yellow flower. He had killed it so many times, but it always reset. Maybe he’d never figure out how to fix the timeline. 

Suddenly, from above, there came a scream. 

His eyes shot up to the towering cavern above where he knew there was an opening to the overworld. He saw the dark shape of a body falling just in time to cushion its fall with his magic. 

The flower was also startled by the newcomer. It was so distracted by the body that had almost fallen on top of it that it didn’t see the blue and yellow eye shining from the shadows. 

Sans paused time. The flower couldn’t do that, he knew, and as far as he could tell it also never noticed. He stepped from the shadows and walked carefully up to the body lying on the bed of flowers. 

A human. He was afraid of that. 

He knelt down and rolled it over so he could see it’s face. 

A young woman. She didn’t seem to be hurt. 

Not yet. 

Something made a noise in her pocket and lit up through her sweater. He reached in and brought out a rectangular, glowing phone. He turned the device off and pocketed it to be examined later. 

He stood up and looked down at the yellow flower. He’d named it Flowey a while back, but after realizing how evil it really was he didn’t think it deserved a name. 

He couldn’t take the girl away or the flower would notice and surely mess up the timeline again. If he didn’t take her away, Asgore would hear of her and get his seventh soul. 

He thought on it for a while and eventually decided to leave her to the lesser of the two evils and keep her presence a secret as long possible. 

And he would be watching in the shadows, afterall. 

\---

She sat up. She was sure she was dead. How could she fall that far and not be dead? And yet there was no mistaking her heart pounding like it was trying to escape her rib cage. 

Just a second before the ground had been rushing to meet her, and then somehow everything slowed down. And then she’d hit the floor as though she’d only fallen a couple of feet. 

Maybe she WAS dead. It was so dark around her it could have been Hell, except for a sky full of blue stars that shone with a dull sort of light. 

“Hello?” she called out hesitantly. She could have sworn she’d seen someone standing above her. 

“Well hello there. You’re new to the Underground, aren’tcha? Gosh, you must be so confused.”

**RESET**

“Why are you doing this???” Sans cried out, striking her down once again. She laughed, bleeding profusely from her abdomen. 

“I killed one and it just wasn’t enough. So I killed another, and another. And after that, it was easy.” 

Sans gritted his teeth. 

“Don't do this, Jenny.” 

“Don’t call me that!!” she hissed. She lunged at him again. 

He dodged. 

“I know you’re in there somewhere.” he said. Tears streamed from his eye sockets. He could easily end her, but he didn’t want to. Not again. 

And again. And again. And again. 

He let her beat him. 

**RESET**

He stood in the cavern where she first fell, ready to save her from death once again. 

This time he’d stay close. This time he’d be more careful. 

This time. 

He slowed her fall with his magic. But then he realized he hadn’t heard her scream. 

He paused time and ran to her. He stepped on Flowey, but he didn’t care. 

He gathered her up in his arms and put an ear to her chest. His worst fears were confirmed when he didn’t hear a heartbeat. 

He put her back down on the bed of flowers and let his tears fall onto her face. 

Once he was far enough away he unpaused time. 

She sat up. 

"Hello, Frisk." Said Flowey.


	5. NO MORE NIGHTMARES

He’s crying. I keep trying to hit him, but he dodges. 

I’m screaming inside my head, but I can’t control my body.

Don’t let me hit him. Don’t let me hit him. 

Just keep hitting me. Kill me, end it. 

But he won’t. 

I slash the knife at him one more time. Red on blue. 

I kneel in horror. There’s blood on my hands. It’s not all mine. 

“Sans…” I breathe. I lay his head in my lap. He looks up at me and smiles. 

“Hey….Kiddo…” and the lights in his eye sockets go out. For good. 

“SANS!!!!!” 

 

It’s dark and someone has hold of me. I thrash and cry out, trying to get away.

“Kid! it’s me!” He says, hovering above me. I freeze as his face swims into my vision. The lights in his eyes are so bright it’s like being too close to christmas lights. 

It was a dream. All a bad dream. 

My breath shutters in my chest. He grasps my wrists in his skeletal hands. 

“You were freaking out...I tried to wake you up…” 

Sometimes, when I have bad dreams, I sneak into their house to curl up on the couch. He’s sitting next to my shaking body, looking down at me. He releases my wrists. 

“You okay?” he asks. He looks worried and...sad. Always so sad. Even when he’s smiling. 

I reach up and hook my arms around his neck. I pull him down to me, hugging him as tight as I dare. 

“Woah.” he gasps, pulling back. I refuse to let go, but he’s stronger than me so I just go up with him. I sit there and shake, my face buried in the neck of his hoodie. After a moment he puts his arms around me and returns the embrace. 

“What’s got you so spooked? Was Papyrus walking around in his underwear again?” 

I let out a shaky laugh. I’m crying and laughing. 

“Just a...bad dream.” I manage to choke out. 

“Heh.” is all he says, like it ain’t no thang. “Well that just won’t do.” He stands up and drags me with him. 

“You can sleep in my room.” I look up at him to see if he’s serious, but we’re already inside his room. 

“I KNEW you could teleport.” I say, still not letting go of him. 

“Are you stuck to me?” he grins. 

“Yep.” 

“WELL, how unfortunate for me.” he says, and falls back onto his bare twin mattress on the dusty floor. I squeak as I fall with him. 

“Now shut up and go to sleep.” He puts his hands behind his head and gets comfy with me on top of him. I lay my head on his chest and listen to his heartbeat until I stop shaking. 

I won’t have anymore nightmares tonight. 

\---

He lies there and stares up at the ceiling. 

Her breathing is slow and steady. She’s even snoring a little. 

He hopes his heartbeat is enough for the both of them.


	6. TRUE ENDING

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sans has a plan. He hopes...

He'd been set back to her last save too many times today. He was used to it, of course, but now he couldn't go six minutes without being pulled back through space and time. He didn't like to interfere anymore. She was none of his concern now, there was nothing he could do for her, but it was starting to annoy him. 

He teleported to her to stop whoever kept killing her. He arrived just in time to magic the gun out of her hand. 

He stood there, staring at her. His hand was frozen, shaking, outstretched in front of him. 

She had been about to...kill herself. 

He clapped his hand over his mouth in horror, realizing just how many times she must have already done it today. 

She swayed where she stood in Toriel's kitchen, head bowed, shoulders slumped, empty hands hanging from loose arms. She seemed to have only just noticed his presence. She looked over at him with red, puffy eyes that seemed emptier than his own eye sockets.

"Why don't I have a heartbeat?" she whispered. Her voice was like dry leaves on pavement. He wasn't even sure if she recognized him. 

"Jenny..." he began. But what could he say? 

"That's not my name," she said dully. 

"Ok. Ok, Frisk." He nodded. He took a step toward her, but she flinched. 

"Don't! I'll hurt you! I hurt them all. I killed them ALL," she said the last word like she was trying not to throw up, so disgusted she was with herself. 

"You can't hurt me. Not yet," he said, closing the gap between them and taking her into his arms. She was stiff to his touch, like she was terrified. Anger flared up inside, and he could feel his flaming eye burning in it's socket. He had to do something, anything, but what could he do?? 

He kissed the top of her head and held her tighter. 

"Why don't I have a heartbeat?" she asked again. He wouldn't tell her it was her soul that was missing. 

Then, suddenly, like lightning the idea struck his brain. He placed his hands on her shoulders and pushed her back so he could look straight into her face. 

"Look at me." he asked. She did not respond. 

"Frisk! look at me!" he demanded, shaking her a bit. She met his eyes. Was there any shred of the girl he once knew there?

"You have to kill us. You have to kill us ALL." 

"...what?" she asked in a voice so small. 

"Give in. Do what she wants." 

"NO," she shook her head. "No...please." Her eyes began to leak once again. 

"Trust me. You have to trust me just one more time. I have a plan." 

He hoped. 

 

This is it, he thought. This is my only chance. 

She grinned at him. The light of the judgement hall made her teeth look like yellow fangs. 

"We'll dance like this forever, Sansy. You'd like that, wouldn't you?" she sneered. 

He gritted his teeth. He just had to wait for an opening. She slashed at him with the knife. He dodged. 

"You won't hit me?" she laughed. He only needed one hit, but would it work? 

"You must really love her," she smirked. "It must tear you apart to have to kill her over and over and over..." Her laughter was high pitched and manic. 

He aimed a gaster blaster right above her head. In the split second her eyes shifted up to look at it, he teleported into her [FIGHT]. 

He plunged his sharp, bone fingers deep into her chest, breaking a few of her ribs on the way in. She looked at him, shocked. His fist closed around Frisk's soul. He felt it beating against his palm. Quick as a flash he ripped the soul from her body. 

She stared down at the blood pumping like a waterfall from the hole in her chest. 

"You..." she rasped. Her face twisted into a horrible snarl as she leapt at him. 

"Get dunked on," he told her for the last time. 

He fell sideways out of the way of her attack and the blaster cannon behind him opened it's jaws. She was disintegrated in an instant. 

He curled up on the smooth floor of the entrance hall, clutching her soul as tight as he could in his fist. He prepared to be thrown back in time to her last save. 

But nothing happened. 

He opened his eyes and looked down at the soul in his hands. It was still beating. 

It had worked. 

He pressed the soul into his chest and absorbed it. Her consciousness combined with his. He knew he had gained control of the timeline. 

It had worked! 

He immediately went back, back to the place where she first fell, for the very first time. 

 

"Help! Help me!" she called out. She was wounded and could not stand. He strolled up to her and looked down on her with no light in his eye sockets. She looked up at him, afraid, confused, in pain. 

He wasn't falling for it. Not ever again. 

"But nobody came," he said in a voice that was both his and Frisk's. 

He held his hand in front of her face, and the energy from his gaster blaster attack burst from his palm. She screamed, but the sound was cut off abruptly. 

The timeline imploded and Frisk's soul was torn from him. Through time and space he hurtled, for seconds or an eternity he didn't know. 

 

He woke up in a room he didn't recognize at first. It was his room, but it was decorated. Posters, desk, actual bed, cd's, music system, computer, clothes hung neatly in the closet. This was his room, but how it was before he realized it was pointless. 

"Holy shit," he said. 

He teleported into the castle and shouted with joy when he saw Toriel, Asgore and their son Asriel sitting at the table having dinner-- like normal people. 

"Sans! what in the world??" Toriel gasped. 

"Sorry, sorry!" he laughed, so excited he was shaking all over. He surveyed Asriel for a moment. He was no longer a child, but a young man. That meant he'd never met Chara and had never become a flower. 

That also meant...

"What day is it?!?" he asked, suddenly frantic. 

"X/X/201X" Agore answered, eyeing him with concern. 

"Oh my god, what time is it???" 

"2:35." Asriel said, looking at him curiously. 

"SHIT!" 

He teleported to the place where she had first fallen. The cavern looked the same, save for the absence of a bed of yellow flowers. Now the ground was only covered with green moss. He looked up to the towering ceiling. He froze, listening so intently he willed his heart to stop beating. This was a different timeline. She might not fall. She might not even exist...

"SANS!!!!" came a cry from above, faint and very far away. 

"FRISK!!!!" he answered, so overjoyed he could explode into tiny little pieces. 

"Catch me, OK????" she yelled. 

"I promise!!!" he yelled back, lifting his arms instinctively. She fell with a shout and he levitated her down to him. Her feet hit the ground, and she ran at him, her eyes so full of light the whole cavern could have been swimming in daylight. She slammed into him so hard his breath was knocked out, but he was so happy he didn't mind. 

He held onto her as tightly as he could without hurting her. 

"You remember." he stated. 

"Everything." she was sobbing and laughing at the same time. She always did that. 

"We did it, kiddo," he said, tears streaming from his eye sockets. 

"YOU did it," she squeezed him. "Does anyone remember?" she asked.

"No." He shook his head. 

"How will everyone get out of here?" she asked, looking up at him. 

"That can wait," he said. He placed his hand against her cheek. She was warm and real and he could feel her heart pounding against him. 

"You wanna go to Grillby's?" he asked, grinning. He ruffled her hair. 

She laughed and pushed him. He pulled her down with him as he fell laughing to the ground. They curled up there in each other's arms for as long as they wanted. Neither of them had a care in the world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And now the story begins.


	7. SHOTS!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Frisk has a little too much to drink...

They are having a party in my honor. Everyone is dancing, and the Entrance Hall has been decorated with magic lights and streamers. Loud electronic music echoes off the high ceiling, making it even louder. Napstablook is DJ-ing from a stage at the far end of the room.

It’s been three months since we fixed the timeline. The monsters accepted me almost immediately. They had no need for my soul, so they just felt bad that I had fallen in here and was now stuck with them. The King and Queen basically adopted me. Funny, even in this timeline it seems Toriel just can’t help but see me as her child. I’m twenty five years old, so I don’t really need parents. But, heck, it’s nice to have two parental figures fuss about me.

Toriel insisted I live in the castle with them. I wanted to just shack up with Sans, but he thought people might be weirded out by that. After all, I’m the first human to fall down here (since Chara had been killed by us and so never met anyone) and it would be very strange for us to already be so close.

“They don’t remember, ya know? We aren’t supposed to know each other.” He had said.

I purse my lips at that. I know he’s right, but it doesn’t make it feel any better.

“Frisk! Why aren’t you dancing???” Undyne steps into my view. She starts grinding against me. I laugh and shriek and try to turn away from her, but she grins a smile full of sharp teeth and grabs me around the waist. 

“Oh no you don’t, we're dancing!!” she laughs. I dissolve into giggles and resign myself to humoring her.

“Hey, stop trying to steal my girlfriend!” Alphys says, pretending to be suspicious. She’s dancing awkwardly and it’s incredibly endearing. I love them both.

“Wooooo!!! Shots!!!” Undyne exclaims. I turn to see Burger Pants (I can never remember his actual name) clawing through the mass of dancing bodies, a harassed look on his face, holding a tray of small glasses full of a glowing blue liquid. Undyne grabs three of the glasses and shoves one into my hands.

“What is it???” I ask, hesitant. I don’t tolerate alcohol very well…

“Just drink it, nerd!” she laughs raucously.

They both toss down their drinks and continue dancing. I’m still not sure if I should. I look out into the crowd and my eyes land on Sans. He’s standing near the wall with his hands in his pockets. He’s sort of halfheartedly swaying to the music. He even dances lazily.

I feel a sudden spike of anger toward him.

Ever since I moved into the castle he’s been sort of…distant. We used to be pretty damn close. I mean, depending on the timeline of course. He even kissed me that one time. But he hasn’t tried since.

We still hang out a lot. The castle is boring so I’m usually out visiting people, and more than half the time I end up hanging out with him (and sometimes Papyrus) at their house. That couch is basically mine. But he doesn’t…you know…TRY anything.

We snuggle. We hold hands sometimes. It’s like middle school up in here. He never visits me at the castle. I always have to make the effort to go see him. And that bothers me the most, because it’s not like it’s a hassle for him to come see me. He can teleport for fuck’s sake.

“Hey Frisk!” Asriel yells into my ear from behind me. He wraps his arms around me and picks me up off the ground. I shriek and kick my legs. He puts me back down, laughing. I’m blushing furiously.

The king and queen’s son has been a very interesting new friend. I only ever knew him as the half flower, half kid mutant from the broken timelines. Now he’s a young man (in monster years?) and it’s so weird to look at him and see a bit of Toriel and Asgore in him. He’s very tall (and I’m short in the first place) so whenever he’s around I feel like a dwarf.

And I’m definitely all about Sans…but I can’t deny Asriel and I have chemistry. He definitely has moves. He’s confident. He’s not at all shy about wearing his heart on his sleeve.

My eyes find Sans over by the wall again, and I see that he’s looking at me and Asriel with annoyance written all over his skull. A feeling of spiteful triumph explodes inside of me and I decide, fuck it, I’m drinking this shot of whatever. I throw it back and deposit the glass on a nearby table. I turn around and grab Asriel’s hands and begin dancing with him. He looks absolutely delighted. Normally he’s used to me politely ignoring his advances. He puts his hands on my waist and I swing my hips in time with the beat.

God dammit if he isn’t a good dancer. Like, damn. I like the feeling of his hands gently gripping my waist. I like the look he’s giving me. About time someone showed some interest in me. I grin maliciously, hoping Sans is seething.

It’s right then that the drink, whatever it was, hits me like a train. The room starts to get hazy and pleasantly warm. The music seems to be coming from inside my head. The lights are mesmerizing. I feel wired and sleepy at the same time. I’m feeling things for Asriel I hadn’t originally felt.

I’m vaguely aware of Undyne and Alphys dancing nearby, giving me thumbs up and wolf whistling at the two of us. I yell back at them happily. I’m drunk for sure, but this is so much nicer than being hammered. I don’t feel sick. I don’t have the spins. Everything is just great.

“More shots!!!” Undyne roars, shoving another glass into my hands. Caution to the wind, I throw it back. Holy fuck I feel amazing. I forget about Asriel and just dance. I haven’t a care in the world.

I suddenly feel like I might fall over. I stop dancing for a moment to catch my breath. I look for Sans, but he isn’t by the wall anymore. I furrow my brow, frustrated. What was his problem anyways? Why did he suddenly turn into a gentleman? I mean, he wasn’t like, NOT a gentleman before, but he was, you know, SANS. He was always in my personal space, calling me pet names, touching me at any chance, making me blush, saying things that were almost borderline inappropriate. Was it because the timeline was steady now? Maybe he only liked to mess with me when he knew I’d forget about his advances when I’d go back to my last save, or the world would reset?

I realize I might have blacked out for a bit. I am still standing with Asriel, but I don’t see Undyne or Alphys. I search the crowd, but my head is so fuzzy I instantly forget who I was looking for. Asriel is looking at me oddly. I realize I haven’t been dancing. I feel angry once again that Sans is ruining my good time, and he’s not even around.

I grab another shot off a passing server’s tray. A skeletal hand wraps around my wrist before I can drink it. I look up to see Sans standing in front of me. He’s giving me a reprimanding look.

“You shouldn’t drink anymore.” He says. The music is loud, but he doesn’t need to raise his voice for me to hear him clearly. I scowl at him. What the fuck does he think he’s doing??

“I’m fine.” I shout at him. I try to wrench my hand out of his grip and spill the shot in the process. He shakes his head, still holding my wrist.

I look around, hoping to get Asriel to make Sans go away, but Asriel is gone. I’m so pissed off.

“You know what Sans, FUCK YOU.” I yell into his face. His eye sockets widen a fraction, and he raises an eyebrow.

“You need to go home.” He says. I can tell I’ve hurt his feelings at least a little. I’m glad.

“You can’t tell me what to do.” I say, ripping my wrist out of his grasp. He lets me go and that’s when I start to feel the spins. I am suddenly aware of how heavy my head is and the momentum of pulling away from him keeps me going and I almost fall over. He lurches forward and grabs me around my middle, holding me up. I clutch onto his hoodie, startled at how little control I suddenly have over my body.

“I’m taking you home.” He states firmly. I’m feeling sick now, so I don’t protest. He teleports us both out of the hall.

I register that he’s taken me to his house. I thought he was taking me to my room in the castle. I wonder if he wanted to make sure I couldn’t go back down to the party and drink more? I frown at that thought. He guides me to the couch and helps me sit down slowly. The room is spinning and I clutch at his arms for support.

“I shouldn’t have let you drink that much.” He says. I’m furious again.

“LET ME??? Who do you think you are???” I yell into his face.

“Your friend.” He says gravely, his smile sour. He straightens up and walks away to the kitchen.

“Oh yea, we’re great friends.” I scoff loudly. I don’t know how long he’s gone. My sense of time is all over the place.

He appears in front of me and carefully puts a glass of water into my hand.

“You should drink that.” He says gently. His face is relaxed, but he looks concerned. I’m a little disappointed that he seems to have calmed down. I wanted to have it out with him.

I clutch the glass, but I don’t drink it. I feel like if I put anything in my stomach I will chuck it up immediately.

“Why don’t you like me anymore?” I ask. The reservation I usually have about this subject has disappeared because of the drink. His eye sockets widen slightly. 

“Whatchu mean, kid?”

“You don’t want to fuck me anymore.” I say bluntly. He lets out a surprised laugh. That makes me mad again.

“All you do is hold my hand. What, are we in middle school? Or did you only like to mess with me when you knew it didn’t matter because it would all reset?” I utter the nasty thought and watch his face fall. Good. I want to make him angry. I like making him angry.

“You’re drunk. You should go to sleep.” He dismisses me and turns to walk away. I’ve gotten under his skin again. Well, not his skin…um, his bones? Whatever. I want more.

“Asriel wants me. Maybe I want him too!” I shout at his back. He stops in his tracks. There’s a familiar, crackling energy coming from him.

“Yea, why wouldn’t I? He’s handsome and powerful. AND TALL.” I put a lot of emphasis on that last part. He curls his fists into tight balls. There we go.

He whips around and pierces me with a look that makes me shiver. The lights have gone out in his eyes, but I see that he’s still restraining himself, probably remembering that I’m not quite myself right now.

I’m vaguely aware that I’m not being fair. He’s very touchy about his height. That’s kind of a low blow, but I want him to feel as bad as I do. He IS short, but I’m short even by human standards, so he’s actually a few inches taller than me.

“Go ahead and be with him, see if I care.” He says. He’s losing his grip. The faint outline of his flaming blue iris can be seen in his left socket. 

“I wish you DID care! At least he has the balls to admit he’s interested in me!” I find myself blurting out. His expression relaxes a bit, but he’s still pissed.

“I’ll leave. You don’t know what you’re saying.” He shakes his head, turning to go once again.

My head feels floaty, and the room gives an extra vigorous spin. The glass falls from my hands and soaks my legs. I grasp the couch cushion, afraid I’m about to throw up.

“Don’t leave me!” I plead, my anger forgotten completely. I don’t want to be alone like this. I can’t even feel my body.

Sans is suddenly sitting next to me, holding my hand and laying a cold, bone hand across my forehead. I lean back against the couch, shaking.

“You’re going to be ok.” He says gently. I look over and see how much he loves me. I groan and lay sideways, putting my head in his lap. I curl my knees up into my chest.

“I’m sorry.” I whimper. I’m grasping his leg just above his knee like my life depends on it.

He seems unsure of the position he’s in, but eventually relaxes and lays a hand across my back and the other combs the hair out of my face. I sigh, the feeling of his boney fingers gliding across my skin makes me feel so much better. He hasn’t touched me, not like this, for ages it seems.

“That’s ok. Those drinks don’t do me any good either. I should have warned you.” He says, tracing a sharp finger down the bridge of my nose.

“I love you, you know.” I say. His hands freeze for a fraction of a second, or maybe I imagined it.

“When I woke up in this timeline, all I could think was to get back to you. I didn’t pack anything, I didn’t say goodbye. I just ran out of the house and sprinted up the mountain. I came back just for you. I don’t care about getting out of here. You said I could stay here forever if I wanted.” The memory of that kiss runs through my mind and my body feels warm and tingly again.

He remains quiet, but continues to run his hands through my hair. I can’t stop my stupid mouth from spilling all my secrets.

“Asriel totally thinks he’s going to get some. But he’s not getting any. It’s all for you, Sans.” I assure him, patting his leg. I hear him chuckling up there and furrow my brow.

“Don’t laugh.” I say, hurt.

“I’m just thinking about how you’re going to feel in the morning.” He grins down at me.

“Whatever, I feel this way sober, too. Fuck you.” I say. After that I pass out.

 

I wake up and groan. My head feels like someone took a bat to it. My mouth is dry and tastes horrible. I don’t register where I am until I realize I’m lying on a couch.

Last night’s events, however jumbled, come crashing back into my brain. I don’t remember much of it, but I remember enough to be ashamed and embarrassed.

Did I really call Sans short??? Oh god…

I sit up carefully. The room spins a little. I’m wrapped in a blanket and my shoes are next to the couch. I’m still in the clothes I was wearing at the party. Of course I am. Thank god I am. I groan again, holding my head in my hands.

“Mornin’ doll.” Sans says cheerily, walking out of the kitchen. He sits down next to me and hands me a glass of water.

“You really oughtta drink this.” He says. I accept the glass, but avoid looking at him. I can feel myself blushing furiously. I can’t believe the things I said to him.

“I don’t usually drink.” I try to explain somehow.

“Obviously.” He chuckles. I take a sip of water and clench my teeth, willing it to stay down.

“What WAS that stuff, anyways?” I ask, wanting to take the subject off of my terrible behavior.

“I'd say it's similar to gin, but it’s infused with magic.” He explains. I can hear the smirk on his face.

Gin. Christ, that explains a lot.

“Fuck my life.” I mutter unhappily. I suddenly remember the way I was dancing with Asriel. Oh god.

And oh god oh god, what else did I say to Sans last night? Wasn’t it something about how I wanted him to…? Mortified, I stand up. The room threatens to turn on its side, but I clench my eyes shut.

“Whoa, kiddo, slow down there.” Sans stands up and holds me steady with a hand on each shoulder.

“I want to go to my room,” I say. I refuse to open my eyes--to stop the spinning and to avoid looking at him.

“No problem.” He says quietly. I feel like I’ve hurt his feelings. I feel his hands on my shoulders grip me tighter, preparing to teleport us both. I lean into him and wrap my arms around his middle. I press my face into his shoulder. He sighs and wraps his arms around me.

He pulls me into the void and after a second of being unable to breathe, we’re in my room in the castle. I cling to him even as he moves to let me go. He chuckles softly and holds me to him. 

“Poor kid.” he says in a low rumble right next to my ear. His hand moves to my waist and he gives me a little squeeze. I jump a little, not expecting that. 

“Heh, seeya later babe.” I can hear the mischievous grin on his face. He presses his lips to my ear and then he’s gone, teleporting right out of my arms. 

I let my arms fall to my side. My face is so red I might die. Oh GOD the things I SAID to him last night!!!! Also I’m wondering, for the second time, how the HELL does he have lips???


	8. BATTLE STANCE

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Frisk finds herself in the middle of a tense situation.

It’s been two weeks since the party. I could barely face Asriel for the first few days. Bless him for not bringing up my behavior at the party. He seems to understand that I was super drunk, and that I’d rather pretend it didn’t happen. 

He has, however, doubled his efforts to get into my pants. I mean, he’s definitely not that kind of guy, but you know, he for sure wants into my pants. 

BUT I guess I’m sort of glad that I spilled my guts to Sans that night. He’s really stepped up his game. A lot, actually. His attitude seems to be one of revenge and making up for lost time. And I’m not complaining. Not at all. I mean, he hasn’t kissed me again yet, but wow is he handsy. And I like it. 

He even shows up at the castle now. He doesn’t just pop into my room, like I’d prefer, but actually comes in the front door of the castle and asks for me. It’s silly, but he seems to like rubbing it in Asriel’s face. 

That’s another thing. I realize that Sans and Asriel never really hung out before, but now it’s like they are ready to fight each other every time they catch sight of one another. And god help me if I’m caught in the middle of one of their awkward, touchy conversations. 

I’m waiting in the entrance hall (which has been returned to normal since the party) for Sans to show up. We’re going to Grillby’s and then watching a movie at his house. The whole gang will be there. 

I’m standing in the center of the room, surveying the spot where Sans and I stood so many times. Sometimes as friends, sometimes as foes. It’s odd being in love with someone you’ve killed and been killed by a few hundred times. I wonder how Sans feels about that…?

“Hey, Frisk.” Asriel walks up to me. His long strides carry him across the room in no time. 

“You off?” he asks, looking a little sad. 

“Oh...yea...waiting for Sans.” I tell him, feeling horrible. I don’t even know if he’s invited to the movie tonight. 

“Yea...cool.” He shuffles his feet. After an awkward moment of silence he seems to conjure up some determination. He boldly steps into my personal space.

“Listen, Frisk, I know you don’t like me the way I like you.” he begins.

“Oh, um--” I try to stop him but he keeps going.

“But I know you at least can feel the chemistry between us.” 

“Dude, I--”

“And I know you were drunk that night, but I mean, the way you were looking at me--” 

“I didn’t--I wasn’t--” I babble.

“And I think it was kind of unfair of you to use me like that,” he finishes. 

Oh. I wasn’t expecting that. But fuck, he right. I totally used him to make Sans jealous. And it totally worked, but that doesn’t make it ok. I look up into his hurt face, and again I am faced with how adorable he really is. 

“Asriel...I’m sorry...you’re right, I shouldn’t have…” I don’t know what else to say. I step into him and give him a hug. Not too friendly of one, but a hug nonetheless. He seems to appreciate the gesture and hugs me back. A hug that is just a smidge too friendly, but I’ll let it pass. 

Someone clears their throat loudly by the entrance door. I pull away from Asriel and whip around to see Sans standing there. His hands are in his pockets, his usual grin is plastered across his skull, his stance is super casual. 

But oh god the magical anger coming off him feels like static in the air. 

“Heya. Came to pick up my girlfriend, either of you seen her?” he asks. He acts like he’s joking, but I can tell he’s pissed. 

I’ve battled Sans quite a few times, so I know very well his “I’m about to kick your ass” look. And he’s throwing that look hard Asriel’s way. Asriel stands his ground, and I can’t help but be impressed. 

“Oh hello, Sans.” Asriel drawls calmly. Sans teleports to stand only feet from us. I’m standing between them, looking from one to the other frantically. 

“You two are official now, huh?” Asriel asks. His voice is like ice. 

“Sure are.” Sans smiles. That’s a scary smile. 

“I wonder, does she know that?” Asriel cocks his head as though he’s actually pondering that question. The lights in Sans eyes go out like somebody dumped water on them. 

I decide to step in before things get ugly. 

“OK WELL, I’ll see you later Asriel.” I say pointedly, pushing him away from Sans. He doesn’t budge. I turn to Sans instead and hook my arm in his. I drag him away toward the door and eventually he falls into stride next to me. 

“Christ, Sans, what the hell was that?” I hiss at him once he has teleported is into Snowdin, just a ways outside the town. He always likes to walk with me in the snow. 

“Seems like you two were enjoying yourselves.” He says darkly. He’s still grinning, like he can play it off like he’s joking. 

“We were hugging. That’s it. I felt bad for...treating him the way I did at the party.” I explain. Sans stays silent, obviously still seething. 

“And I don’t appreciate you thinking I would cheat on you.” I say abruptly. He snaps out of his brooding and looks over at me, shocked. The lights are back in his sockets. 

“I didn’t--” he starts. 

“And you should have asked me to be your girlfriend before announcing it like that.” I fume. 

“Ah jeez, Frisk, I wasn’t--I didn’t mean to…” he trails off. He turns his skull forward, looking dejected. 

“WELL?” I demand, stopping in my tracks. He skids to a stop and looks back at me.

“Well, what?” he asks, genuinely confused. 

“Are you going to ask me, or what?” I say, crossing my arms. 

“Oh!” he says. He stares at me for a few moments before turning around and taking my hands in his. He’s blushing, which oddly turns his cheek bones a light blue. I’m suddenly nervous, my sass gone as suddenly as it came. I like how much bigger his skeleton hands are than mine. His boney fingers feel just a bit rough and surprisingly warm. 

“I’d really appreciate it, ma’am,” he begins, an impish grin spreading across his face, 

“If you’d do me a real solid,” he continues, pulling me against him and leaning his face closer to mine, “And be my friend with **bone** -efits.” 

I push him away, annoyed, but laughing. “Sans! you asshole!” 

He chuckles darkly and the look on his face is anything but gentlemanly. 

“Asking you to be my girlfriend, what are we in middle school?” he says, his grin deepening. 

I blush. He’s referencing something I said to him that night after the party. 

“I’m not officially your girlfriend until you ask.” I say, ignoring his previous statement. 

“Alright, alright. But at least let me ask you in a more romantic place, huh?” He tones down the downright dirty look in his eyes (sockets?) and holds out a hand. Giving him a rueful look, I take his hand and we continue to walk side by side. 

 

Undyne, Alphys, Sans, Papyrus and I are all sitting on and around the sofa in the skelebros house. We are supposed to be watching a movie, but mostly we are all just talking over it and throwing popcorn at each other. 

I’m laughing about a line in the movie with Alphys when Undyne puts an arm around my shoulders and leans in to whisper something in my ear. 

“So, what happened with you and Sans after that party?” 

I snap my head around to look into her face, shocked. Her toothy smile is all knowing. 

“Nothing. He just took me home. I mean, took me, here...I slept on the couch.” 

She’s not buying it, and her eyebrows bob up and down suggestively. Suddenly something I didn’t realize hits me like lightning in my brain. When Sans made me leave the party, he took me HERE. He had said, “I’m taking you home,” and he took me HERE. 

He took me home. 

I turn to look at him sitting next to me. I remember him holding my hand and resting a cold hand on my forehead. I remember the look on his face. He loves me.

He fucking loves me. 

I want everyone to leave. I want this hangout to be over, and for everyone to get the hell out. I need to be alone with my favorite skeleton.


	9. COUCH TIME

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Frisk gets frisky. Bet nobody's ever made that joke before.

It’s hours before everyone finally fizzles out and wanders home. Papyrus happily bids us goodnight, and I’m left alone with a sleeping Sans on the couch. 

His head hangs forward and his mouth is open slightly. I don’t see the inside of his mouth very often. His canines are cute little fangs, not sharp, but pronounced. He’s wearing a baggy gray t-shirt that says “SHIRT” and black sweatpants. His forearms are exposed and the bones are pure white, but there are a thousand tiny scratches all over them. His hands are limp beside him, resting on the couch. I want to examine every little intricate phalange, which kind of makes me feel creepy. 

He’s breathing slowly and deeply, his chest rising and falling. How the hell does that work? He’s a goddamn mystery. He’s so goddamn attractive. 

Before I can chicken out, I move to sit on his lap, straddling his legs and facing him. He wakes up and looks shocked but pleasantly surprised. I hold his head gently between my hands and lean my forehead against his. His eye sockets are lidded and the lights in his eyes are bigger than usual. They are so bright I almost can’t look straight into them. 

“Hey kitten.” he growls, still sleepy, his hands finding their way up my thighs to my hips. Whoa. He’s never called me THAT before. Something like electricity is lighting up my brain and suddenly I’m wide awake. Involuntarily, my hips push down and backward. 

“Oh, you like that one, huh?” he grins. I trace my fingers down the back of his skull and feel the bones at the back of his neck. He sucks in a breath and sits forward. He doesn’t seem so sleepy now. 

“What’s gotten into you?” he drawls. His sharp bone fingers dig into my hips. 

“Hopefully you, soon.” I say, amazed that I thought of it before he did. He looks absolutely floored and lets out a genuine laugh. I’m so proud of myself I grow bolder and kiss him. His laugh turns into a grunt and he kisses me back. Hard. 

He definitely has lips. They don’t feel like human lips, but they aren’t hard bone. Somewhere in between? His hands creep under my shirt, and his fingers skitter up my back. I press in closer to him, as close as I can get. His mouth opens and I feel him bite at my lips. I lick his teeth. He groans and clutches me tight to his body. His ribs dig into me through his shirt. 

His hips rock upward into me, and his tongue busts its way into my mouth. 

Wait, _his tongue???_

I bring my head back to look into his face. He’s got a sideways grin on, but his mouth is slightly open and a blue, flaming tongue is poking out between those little fangs of his. 

“Somethin’ wrong?” he quirks at me. In his left socket is a flaming iris, flashing cyan and yellow. 

“I didn’t know you had a tongue!” I breathe. 

“Me neither, kid.” he lies. His grin widens. He said the same thing the first time we kissed. 

“You said…you didn’t know you could kiss me...” I say, pointing an accusing finger in his face. He laughs wolfishly. 

“I said no such thing. I was simply surprised that you would LET me kiss you.” 

“You are such an--” I start to say. He unclasps my bra and his hands move from my back to my front, up my stomach and rest on my breasts. I let out a little “eek!” and clutch at his hands under my shirt. I’m still covered by my bra, but this is farther than he’s ever gone with me. 

“Yea, I’m a sneaky little fuck,” he says, his voice gravely and just above a whisper. His thumbs flick over my nipples and even though there’s a layer of lace between me and his fingers I can’t help but gasp. My body shudders as warmth spreads from my head to my toes. I can’t stand that look he’s giving me anymore, so I press my mouth to his and close my eyes. He chuckles into my mouth and continues with that tongue of his. 

It feels like a normal tongue--except maybe a little rougher? And there’s definitely some tingling going on. My hands travel down his chest, feeling the bones underneath his shirt. His breath catches and he makes this little “umph” noise. I’ve never heard him do THAT. I press harder with my fingers, digging in a little between his ribs, but the shirt is restricting me. Still he makes more of those noises and his thumbs graze my nipples again. My hips again of their own accord grind down onto him.

I want more. My hands venture under his shirt and my bare palms hit hard, warm bones. 

“Aghk!” he says into my mouth. I pull my head back to survey him. 

One eye is closed tightly, the other is half lidded. His mouth is open, slack jawed. That tongue is lolling. 

Oh. My. GOD. 

My fingers slide between his ribs and gently caress the undersides. He moans, slams both eyes shut and grasps at my hands, my breasts completely forgotten in his pleasure. And maybe a little bit of pain? His breathing is becoming uneven. His hips grind up against me. 

And--

What the fuck? 

I look down instinctively, because there is no denying that something, which feels a whole lot like a dick, is pressing up against my crotch. 

“Yea, I got one of those too.” he laughs shakily. His eyes are open, and he’s looking up at me with that wolfish expression again. He digs his sharp fingers into my hips and pushes up against me. I let out a little giggle, overwhelmed. Even through his sweatpants and my own pants I can feel him, and he’s rock hard. 

Suddenly there’s a noise from upstairs and we both freeze. 

Oh my god, I totally forgot. Papyrus lives here. Sweet, innocent Papyrus--just right up the stairs. Sans waits for a few moments, listening intently. When there are no more noises, he relaxes and chuckles under his breath. 

“He talks in his sleep a lot.” 

I let out the breath I had been holding and giggle sheepishly. 

“But, ah, maybe we oughtta ...relocate?” he suggests. 

I nod, suddenly shy. He wraps his arms around me and presses his face into my chest. 

I grasp at his spine. He looks up at me and winks. 

“Hold on, babe.” 

We teleport. It’s dark, wherever we are. Sans is still wrapped around me, and I’m still straddling him. He’s sitting on something. I blink, trying to get my eyes to adjust. 

There’s a little window, and moonlight is pouring in through the blinds. After a few more seconds I see that we are in a room. We are perched on the edge of a twin bed. There are posters on the walls, but it’s too dark to see what’s on them. There’s a desk, a music system, a bookshelf, piles of what look like CD cases. There’s a trombone standing without a case in the corner. There’s a closet without doors and articles of clothing hanging neatly from hangers. 

It dawns on me that this is Sans’ room. 

“Looks a little different, huh?” he says. I didn’t realize I hadn’t been in here since the timeline was fixed. This is what his room really looks like. Or, how it must have looked like before...everything. But I’m confused.

“Your room is right next to his…” I say, wondering if I need to point out the obvious. 

“Give me some credit, kid. These walls are soundproofed with only the finest magic. Didn’t ya ever wonder why Papyrus and Undyne didn’t hear you screaming at me the last time you were in here?” There’s a flicker of sadness in his voice. I remember all too well when he confronted me about my identity. It is an unspoken rule between us that he never call me by that name again. 

But I don’t want to think about that right now. 

“Good.” I say and push him backward. He laughs and flops onto his back. His left eye is shining so bright that I can’t see his face very well. He must see me squinting because he says, 

“Oh, hold on.” and makes a throwing motion with one of his hands toward the lamp on the desk. A blue, wispy orb flies into the lamp, and the flashlight taped inside the lampshade clicks on. 

“Why don’t you just change the lightbulb?” I ask, poking him in the ribs. 

“Because where’s the fun in that?” he grunts. He reaches up and grasps the back of my neck with his skeletal hand and pulls me down to him. He kisses me gently and then pivots with me on top of him to lie lengthwise on the bed. His fingers comb through my hair. 

“You’re so beautiful.” he sighs. 

Something bittersweet cuts through me, right down to the heart. The way he said that...it makes me want to cry. What is it about his room that makes us this way? 

“I love you.” I say very quietly, resting my forehead against his. I lay on top of him, like I have before and think how this shouldn’t be comfortable, because, you know, he’s a skeleton. But he’s warm and alive and surprisingly solid. I just want to melt into him so that we will never be separated again. 

His breath escapes his mouth and he looks up at me with that flashing eye. He growls and in one swift motion he rolls us both so that he’s on top of me. He hovers his face so close to mine that I can feel his hot breath on my skin. His hand is under my head, his fingers tangled in my hair. 

“It’s gonna kill me how much I love you, kid,” he says, almost in anguish. There’s so much raw emotion in his voice and on his face that I forget to breathe. My heart is beating fast, and I can feel his heartbeat against my ribs. They don’t synch up at all and it’s a beautiful, uneven, alive feeling. 

Then his hand sneaks under the waistband of my pants. My hands grasp at his back, clutching handfuls of his shirt. I hide my face in his neck. 

“Oho, look who's suddenly shy.” He mutters into my ear. 

“Fuck you, I wasn’t expecting that.” I say. 

“Shit, do you wanna stop?” he asks, totally serious suddenly. 

“No, you idiot.” I groan and press myself up into him. 

"Does this mean you're officially my girlfriend?" he asks innocently. I slap him upside the head. 

“I'll take that as a yes.” he says happily, and his hand continues its journey into my pants.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I honestly never thought I'd be writing about sexy times with a skeleton. SMH.


	10. NOT MUCH OF A PARTY

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Two weeks earlier, at the party.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sans POV

I know she’s getting impatient. I know what she wants. Shit, I’ve been around the block. I wasn’t born yesterday. I’m no baby bones. 

But jeez, how do you go from killing somebody every other timeline to fucking them so quickly?? 

She only just gained knowledge of the timelines she was involved in. But I’ve been living in all of them, the others before her, for what seems an eternity. How do I get used to the fact that there will never be another reset? There are no more saves. I destroyed the time machine. She's the last Frisk there's ever gonna be. 

Don’t get me wrong, I would love me some of that. But I’ve been in the habit of NOT going after some of that, ya know? Yea, I kissed her that one time, but I really shouldn’t have. I still feel kinda gross about it. I mean, I wasn’t thinking about anything but her pretty little face at the time. It was only afterwards that I realized she wouldn’t remember it. Felt kinda...date rapey. 

So after that, I restrained myself. As best I could, anyways. Even in the timelines where she would eventually turn into Chara, I still loved her. 

Now she remembers ALL OF IT. Not just the good parts either. And she doesn’t seem particularly phased. Here I am trying to forget the image of her torn body lying on the floor of the entrance hall, and there she is dancing with her friends over the very same spot. 

Across the hall, I’m watching her. They all threw this party for her, so I figured I should give her some space so the others could hang out with her. Everyone loves her. I knew they would. There is one little problem with that, however. 

Asriel comes up behind her and picks her up. She laughs and blushes. 

This mother fucker. And I thought he was a threat in the OTHER timelines. God dammit if he wasn’t immediately on pussy patrol when she started living in the castle. I’m still kicking myself for that. All she wanted was to live with me, probably in my room for Christ’s sake, but I had to go and be an idiot and insist she take up Toriel’s offer to live in the castle. I didn’t think it was wise to associate her with myself too soon, as people here are still a bit suspicious of us Skeletons. 

Boy, if I could reset that shit. 

She doesn’t seem to mind it, either. Sometimes I wonder if he would be better for her. Sometimes I wonder if she’s thinking the same thing. 

She takes a shot. God dammit, Undyne! She’s a human, that stuff’s gonna hit her harder than a--

She starts dancing with him. 

I can feel my magic creeping up my spine. It always flares up when I’m angry. He’s got his hands on her waist. I'm jealous as fuck over here, but also, with her dancing that way, with those hips--

I’m pissed AND turned on. I gotta get the hell outta here or this whole place is going up in flames. 

I stand outside in the night air for a time. I know what she’s doing. She’s frustrated with me. She’s trying to make me jealous. 

Heh, trying. It’s fucking working. 

I sigh and my breath creates a cloud of fog in the chilly night sky. I have to realize she’s younger than me. Well, not exactly. Yes, monsters live longer than humans in the first place, but by our standards her “age” is about the same as mine. It’s just that I have an infinite number of timelines under my belt…

Feels like I’ve been alive for too long. 

Well, I tell myself, it’s time to start living in THIS timeline. 

I get back inside the hall just in time to see her grab another shot off a tray. I teleport to her and grab her wrist. I don’t know how many she’s had by now, but she’s already barely capable of standing up. 

What the fuck is wrong with everyone, letting her drink herself into oblivion? She’s not happy with me, even throws the F-bomb in my face. She swears a lot these days (which might be because of my rad influence, heh) but not usually AT me. She wrenches her arm to get away from me, and I let her go, just so she can see what happens when momentum takes a hold of her. 

Sure enough, she almost falls over. That’s it, I’m taking her home. 

I teleport us both into the house. I have to help her sit on the couch. I’m so mad at myself, I should have been watching her. 

“I shouldn’t have let you drink that much.” I say, more to myself than her. 

“LET ME??? Who do you think you are???” She yells into my face. 

I stand in the kitchen for a while, holding a glass of water I got for her. I close my eyes and breathe deeply. She’s not herself right now, Sans. Keep it together. 

“Why don’t you like me anymore?” she asks, her words slurring together. Oh boy. I decide to play dumb. 

“Whatchu mean, kid?” 

“You don’t want to fuck me anymore,” she says very clearly. 

I can’t help but let out a bark of a laugh. I didn’t think she would just come right out and say it like that. She calls me out on treating us like we are both much younger than we are. I knew that one was coming. The next one though…

“Or did you only like to mess with me when you knew it didn’t matter, because it would all reset?” she practically sneers at me. She looks uncannily like Chara right there. 

She’s got a point. I don’t feel good about that. But we should really talk about this when she’s not drunk off her ass. I decide it’s best if I leave, but then she brings up that Asriel prick. 

Alright, OK, don’t let it get the best of ya, Sans. I’d like to say I’m staying calm, but magic is crackling and sparking inside my left eye socket. 

“...AND TALL.” 

OH, HELL NO. I turn on her and try to come up with something just as nasty to say. 

“Go ahead and be with him. See if I care.” I’m losing my grip. My eye is flaring up. 

“I wish you DID care,” she cries at me. 

Oh. 

That makes me feel incredibly sad. But I’m pretty much always sad, so it’s not a huge deal. This isn’t good. I’m older than this. She’s drunk. She’s not herself. 

Yea, but all this shit is coming from somewhere, isn’t it? And she’s making some real good points. Except for that part about Asriel being tall. Fuck that. Still, I should go. 

“Don’t leave me!” she pleads. I hang my head. As if I was really gonna leave in the first place. 

She lays her head in my lap. 

“I love you, you know.” 

Yea, I know. Still, I'd prefer to hear her say that when she's sober. I listen intently as she references who she was before she climbed the mountain. She NEVER speaks of it, and I'm not pushing that subject with her again if I can help it. It's an unspoken rule between us that I never call her by that name again. 

She’s got me tied around her pinky finger. Well, I think as she passes out on my lap, maybe it’s time I started reaping the **bone** -efits. 

I chuckle out loud. I gotta use that one later.


	11. LET'S FUCKING GO

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sans and Asriel have a chat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sans POV. Morning after the party.

I pop into existence back at my house after dropping her off in her room in the castle. I'm still laughing about her reaction to me squeezing her waist. She talks big, but when it comes right down to it she's pretty shy. 

I look at the couch where she slept last night and see her shoes lying there. Eh, I'll give it a day before I return them to the castle. Poor brat could barely look me in the eye when she came to this morning. 

Heh, serves her right for putting me through that last night. Alright, yea, I enjoyed it after she was done yelling at me. I stayed there on the couch with her passed out on me for hours. I mean, I wasn’t just sitting there staring at her the whole time. I fell asleep eventually. 

Next day I show up at the Entrance Hall (or as I used to call it, the Judgement Hall) and ring the doorbell to wait for someone to invite me in. I don’t like to just barge in on people in their own home. 

I’m really hoping Toriel or Asgore answer the summons, but of course it’s Asriel who shows up. 

“Oh.” he says, obviously not happy to find me waiting there. 

“Heya.” I grin. Bet he thought I wouldn’t show up here. 

“Sans...what a surprise.” He says, clearly annoyed. 

“Yea, well, I know how much you like surprises.” I say, trying to keep how much I’m enjoying his displeasure out of my voice. 

“Hm. Did you need something?” he asks, irritated. He hasn’t invited me in. 

“Was your mother a cactus?” I mumble under my breath. 

“What?” he furrows his brow, confused. 

Cuz you’re a little prick. 

“Never mind, listen, I need to return these shoes to Frisk.” 

He narrows his eyes at the shoes hanging from my hand. 

“She left them at my house after the party.” I decide, on a whim, to throw in that little tidbit of information. 

Heh. Hehhehhehhehheh. 

I watch his face with barely disguised glee as he registers the implications of what I’ve just said. 

“After the party,” he repeats. 

“Yea.” 

“She was in her room all day yesterday,” he states. 

“Yea, I dropped her off in the morning.” I can almost see the battle going on behind his face. I know what he’s thinking. I probably shouldn’t let him think it, but that look he’s wearing is just too delicious. 

“So you’re the reason she left the party early. Everyone was looking for her.” He purses his lips. Boy’s got nerve, I’ll give him that. 

“Really? Cuz it looked to me like she was all by her lonesome, and everyone else was having too much fun to notice.” I narrow my eyes at him. 

“She was not alone. She was with me. I went to get her some water and when I came back she was gone,” he snarls. He might as well be baring his teeth at me. 

“Listen, buddy, I ain’t got all day here. Can ya just go get the little lady so I can give her her damn shoes back?” I grin tightly. 

Just then Frisk rushes out of the doorway. She looks between me and Asriel. She’s frantic, like she thinks we might kill each other. Well, she ain’t exactly wrong. 

“Sans?” she asks, looking at me with those big brown eyes. 

“Shoes.” I wink at her, holding them up. 

“Oh! thanks…” she takes them, avoiding my gaze and blushing. Asriel is watching our interaction with avid interest. His hackles are raised. 

That’s right, you little dickhole, you thought you were gonna get some, but it’s all for ME. 

I smile widely at him and open my mouth just a fraction of a fraction so that he gets a glimpse of my fangs. He understands the gesture without question and there’s fire in his eyes. I think he’s about to attack me (and I’m READY), but Frisk quickly grabs my hand and exclaims,

“Come upstairs!” and drags me away from him. I look back and flip him the bird, my left eye flashing. 

Hehhehhehhehheh. 

Punk. 

 

I teleport outside the castle. I'm picking her up to go out to Grillbys. She wants me to teleport straight into her room, but I'm determined to do this thing proper. She wants me to get serious? Alright, fine, but I'm doing it MY way. Little brat already has enough strings attached to my heart. 

I walk into the Entrance Hall to a sight I hope I never see again. Why do horrible things always happen in this stupid room? 

They’re holding each other. And his hand is dangerously close to being on her ass. This place is about to become the Judgment Hall once again. 

I clear my throat loudly. Frisk jumps and whips around. Asriel, however, doesn’t seem too surprised to see me standing here. 

THIS mother FUCKER. 

“Heya, came to pick up my girlfriend--” I put a lot of emphasis on the girlfriend part, “either of you seen her?” 

“Oh, hello Sans,” he says. He thinks he’s so fucking smooth. I see right through his bullshit. 

I teleport into his line of fire. If he wants to go, let’s fucking GO. 

“You two are official now, huh,” he asks with that stupid, arrogant expression on his stupid, arrogant face. 

“Sure are.” I’m smiling so hard I can feel my fangs digging into my lip.

“I wonder, does she know that?” He cocks his head at me, like he thinks he’s clever. 

You know, I haven’t dunked on anybody in a while. Maybe it’s time I came out of retirement. 

Again, Frisk intervenes and drags me away from a fight. I bare my fangs at him, my eyes dark and hollow, before turning away. One of these days, Frisk won’t be there to save the little goat prince. 

“Are you going to ask me, or what?” she says, crossing her arms. 

“Oh!” I’m surprised. I thought she would be pissed for at least a little longer after I messed up so badly. I don’t know what it is about Asriel that gets me so riled up. I mean, I KNOW what it is, but I shouldn’t let it get to me like that. 

Well shit, here I was wanting to take things slow, and now I’ve gone and made her my girlfriend, unofficially. Seems like a good time to use that pun from earlier. 

I take her hands in mine and she gets all shy. God dammit I love that. 

“I’d really appreciate it, ma’am, if you’d do me a real solid,” I pull her against me and she blushes, “and be my friend with **bone** -efits.” 

She wasn’t expecting it. She laughs and pushes me away. I make myself let her go. The feeling of her against me, and the energy I still have from the confrontation earlier, and just the fact that she wants ME not that goat asshole--

I’d like to just skip dinner and eat her right now. 

Holy shit, dial it back, Sans! I stop looking at her like she’s a piece of meat and continue our chaste walk through the snow. 

I can’t stop creeping on her from that moment on. I’m trying to play it cool, but god dammit if she isn’t the sexiest little thing in the goddamn universe. 

“Chill the fuck out man!” I tell myself under my breath. Thankfully nobody hears that because they’re all talking over the movie. I glance over at her again and she’s looking at me. I give her a quick smile and look back at the television. 

I’m starting to feel drowsy. I can’t fall asleep. I have to stay awake so that I can leave before everyone else leaves. Cuz if we end up alone together...

I wake up to somebody sitting on my lap. 

Woops, I fell asleep. 

WOOPS, there’s a pretty girl in my lap. 

Ok, OK, Sans, you can handle this! But my hands betray me. They snake their way up her thighs and rest on her hips. God dammit those hips. 

“Hey kitten.” I say. Shit. Why did I say that? That’s a sure fire way to get into a girl’s pants--

Her hips grind down on me. 

And I’m done for. 

Well, heck, I tried my best, didn’t I? So much for taking things slow…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I like to imagine that Sans has a slight Brooklyn accent that gets real noticeable when he's about to kick ass.


	12. DETERMINATION

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oh SHIT. It's happening!

His hand, slow as hell, wriggles into my panties. Thank the gods I wore a pretty pair today. 

Ugh, he’s teasing me. His fingers go farther and farther and then draw back before touching me. I make a frustrated noise and he snickers. 

“Jeez, you really want it bad.” He grins like a cheshire cat. 

“You want it more.” I promise, annoyed. I grab the bottom of his shirt and pull it up his back. I trace my fingers down his spine, making sure to get into the grooves. He shudders and gasps. He growls, making a low rumbling sound in his chest, and lowers his head to bite down on my neck. 

“AH!” I clutch at him, my fingers lacing through his ribs. His dull little fangs feel pretty damn sharp. His tongue glides across my skin, warm and tingling. And again, those skeleton fingers spider their way down, farther and farther. 

And then he finally touches me. His bone hand is warm and slightly rough. The tips of his fingers are strangely sharp, but don’t scrape like fingernails would. With one of those magical fingers he gently pets the outside of my lips. 

And then dips into me. 

I make a sound akin to panic, and he unlocks his jaws from my neck to lift up his head and look into my face. My hands are still tangled in his back bones, and my knees have drawn themselves up in the air. 

“You alright, kitten?” he asks. He’s still smirking, but he really is genuinely making sure I’m ok. I open my mouth, but words don’t come out. I simply nod my head and hold my breath. 

“God you’re adorable.” he whispers, like he still can’t believe this is happening. His fingers go deeper. My thigh muscles flex and my legs pull together. 

He’s studying my face like he’s witnessing something incredible. I clamp my eyes shut because I can’t handle those shining lights staring into my soul right now. He has mercy on me and bites down on my neck instead. I rest one hand on the back of his skull and I’m still hanging onto his back for dear life with the other. 

This is happening. Sans is about to fuck me. I’m about to fuck Sans. 

THIS IS HAPPENING. 

_SLAM!!!!!!!!!!!!!_

We both jump at the sound of the front door crashing open. 

“SANS! I’VE DONE IT! I’VE DONE IT!!!!” comes a shrill voice from downstairs that could only belong to Alphys. 

The skeleton in question unclamps his jaws from my neck once again and looks at me like I’m supposed to know why the lesbian dinosaur is bursting into his house in the middle of the night. There’s the sound of scrambling up the stairs and then frantic knocking on his door. 

“SANS! Wake up!!!! This is important!!!!!!” she shrieks. 

Papyrus’ door slams open.

“What’s happening? Was I sleepwalking again?” Papyrus asks sleepily. 

Sans takes his hand from my pants and clamps his eyes shut. He lets out a loud “fuck my life” kind of groan, like he can NOT believe this is happening right now. I’m not happy about it either. 

“Can’t we just pretend we aren’t here???” I whisper. I know his room is soundproof, but it’s habit. 

“Would that we could, darling.” He glares at me, like it’s my fault for being so desirable at a time like this. Alphys continues her frantic knocking. 

“Don’t move.” he commands and taps the middle of my forehead with his sharp pointer finger. 

“Gross.” I tease. He gives me a warning look, like--don’t you even dare be cute right now. 

He rolls off me with a huffing noise. He stands next to the bed for a few moments, like he’s preparing himself for something unpleasant. Then he pops out of existence. 

“Heya.” I hear him say. He did surprisingly well at not sounding pissed. 

“Sans!! I did it, Sans, I solved the formula! I’ve figured out how to extract determination from a human soul!!!!” Alphys exclaims. 

There’s a pause. 

This sounds very familiar. And it is, because she’s done it before, obviously. But that was the timeline when Asgore wanted revenge on the human race for the death of his son, and so had ordered her to do it. That was the timeline with Chara. 

But Chara never got the chance to fuck everyone up in this timeline, so why was Alphys trying to extract determination from a human soul?

My stomach churns. What soul was she using??? And more importantly, why was she telling Sans???

“Papyrus. Go back to your room.” 

My heart skips a beat and starts running. I’ve only ever heard Sans use that tone of voice in timelines I’d rather not remember. Apparently Papyrus does not argue, because there’s a frightened little sound of a door closing as quietly and quickly as possible. 

“Alphys, meet me in the lab in ten minutes,” he says to her. 

“C-can’t we just teleport there? I get seasick…” she whines. 

“NO,” he says firmly. I can almost feel his anger from here. 

“There’s something I need to do first. Go, I’ll meet you there.” 

Alphys huffs and scrambles down the stairs. 

I can feel blood pumping in my ears. What did I just hear? WHAT DID I JUST HEAR? He pops back into the room. It occurs to me at that moment just how useless doors are against him.

He’s looking at me with those mostly empty sockets. He’s too calm right now. 

“It’s not what you think,” he begins. I slide off the bed on the other side and I don’t feel much better with only it between us. 

“Then what is it?” I ask. My voice is higher than I meant it to be. He doesn’t answer. Which makes me think it might indeed be what I think. 

“You said I was the only human who had fallen down here since Chara. Please tell me there isn’t another human down here being...experimented on.” I shiver at the thought. 

"Of course not!" He shakes his head sharply. 

"Then how did she figure out how to do it???" I demand. 

“We didn’t need a human. I remembered the formula from last time,” he says quickly.

“You remembered?” I repeat. 

“Yes, I was the one who originally formed it. I used to work in the lab before you came along. In this timeline I still work there. We were working on ways to break the barrier. I let her think she came up with the idea. I've been giving her bits and pieces of the formula. I didn’t think she’d figure it out so soon.” He rushes through this explanation. 

I suddenly have a memory of picking up a joke book with a quantum physics book inside. There are so many things I don’t know about Sans. 

“But what do you need determination for? It doesn’t work, you know what happened to those monsters who she…” I grimace at the memory of those grotesque phantoms. 

“I believe I’ve solved that problem as well,” is all he offers. 

So…they have the means to extract determination, but they don’t have a human. My fucking stupid brain finally puts two and two together. 

“You’re going to use me!” I accuse him. I feel like I’m witnessing this scene from outside my body. None of it makes sense. Sans wouldn’t do that. Sans loves me. 

Sans is my...he’s my…

What is he? 

“You can’t have my soul. I’m not dying again.” 

“Fuck, no! I...I figured out how to do it without removing your soul.” He says, shuffling his feet. Why don’t I believe him? He sees the look on my face and steps toward me.

“Frisk, I would never--” 

I back up hard against the wall. 

“Don’t you DARE fucking TOUCH me!!” I hiss at him. He flinches back. He looks distressed. 

“I didn’t mean for you to find out like this, I never meant to--” 

“This whole time!!” I screech at him. 

“Frisk, I wasn’t going to force you, for Christ’s sake, what kind of monster do you think I am?” he pleads. 

I search his face for a moment and remember that this skeleton went through hell for me. Died by my hands, even. Over and over and over again. I mean, he killed me as well, quite a few times. But it was always to put me out of my misery, or to delay Chara’s manifestation. I relax a bit. 

That skeleton over there. He loves me. I know he does. I saw it on his face. I sit back down on the bed. 

Sans’ shoulders visibly relax. In fact his entire frame sort of slumps over in what seems to be relief. 

“Jeez, kid, you really think I’m that evil?” He looks at me with the hesitant start of a smile on his skull.

No, I’m not letting this one slide. This whole thing is still fucked up. 

“I need to go home.” I say, making sure to look him straight in the face so that he can see how serious I am. He looks distressed again, but nods. He moves toward me. I stand up.

“No. I want to walk.” I declare. He looks like I just hit him in the face. 

“Yea. Yea, ok. Sure.” His voice is raspy, like his throat is constricted. He ducks his head and backs up against the window, giving the path to the door as much clearance as he can. I walk around the bed at a relaxed but determined pace. He doesn’t move and doesn’t look up at me as I cross the bedroom and open the flaming door. 

I pause in the doorway and look back. He’s still staring at the floor. He looks so sad silhouetted against the moonlit window. Was the room always this cold? 

“I don’t know...how to feel about this. Give me some time, ok?” I say quietly. He doesn’t move. He just nods, jaw clenched, looking down at the floor. 

I shut the door and walk down the stairs. Half way down I start running. I jump, skipping the last few. I sprint through the living room and wrench open the front door.

As the front door swings shut behind me I hear a muffled yell and something crashing upstairs. 

I run all the way to the boat person. I skid to a stop in front of them, panting. 

“Tralala, where will we go today?” the boat person asks. 

“Castle!” I pant. 

“Well, I can take you to Hotland…” they say, sounding disappointed in themselves. 

FUCK! I forgot, I’m always just teleporting there nowadays. I have to go right past the lab to get to the elevator that takes me to the castle. I can’t go near there, not right now. I’m too freaked out. I need Toriel. 

My cellphone! 

I reach into my pants pocket, my heart stopping for a moment when the thought occurs to me that it might not be there, but my hand finds it’s clunky form and closes around it. 

“Mom? Hey, can you pick me up?” God, when was the last time I said that?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You thought you were going to fuck the skeleton, didn't you? YOU IDIOT, did you REALLY think it would be that EASY???!!?!? >:D


	13. RESEARCH

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> SO MANY QUESTIONS!!!

Toriel tells me to meet her in front of the Inn. I hang up the phone and say goodbye to the boat person.

“Come again sometime. Tralala.” 

I wrap my arms around myself. It’s cold, and I left my jacket at his house. I realize my bra is still unhooked. I instinctively look around, self conscious, but obviously nobody is around because it’s the middle of the damn night. I reach under my shirt and awkwardly clasp it back together. 

God, what the hell just happened? 

My mind is whirling as I trudge through the snow. I can’t figure out if I’m mad or scared or sad or frustrated. Maybe all of it. 

Why did he keep this from me? Why didn’t he tell me he worked at the lab? 

He “wasn’t going to force me.” What the hell does that even mean?

Alphys extracted Determination from those other human’s souls. The humans had DIED for that. I really can’t imagine that Sans, or Alphys for that matter, would ask me to die. 

Would they? He said he wouldn’t need to remove my soul, but...

I shiver. My insides won’t stop shaking. I’m so confused. 

I walk past Grillby’s. The windows are dark and empty. The Christmas Tree in the middle of the square is still lit. It’s cheery disposition seems distorted somehow. 

He works at the lab…

He said they were trying to come up with ways to break the barrier. I try to imagine Sans and Alphys working together in that dusty, dark lab.

I stop walking for a moment. I’m struck with the idea that, no, the lab wouldn’t have been abandoned in this timeline. Alphys never injected fallen monsters with Determination. She’d never accidentally created Flowey. 

So the lab is not full of mutant phantom monsters. It’s not dusty. It’s not dark. Have they built the Determination Extraction Machine? The image of that evil looking contraption slides through my mind, and I push the thought away. 

The idea of Sans and Alphys working together down there makes something in my chest squirm. What is that? It feels like jealousy, but Alphys is with Undyne. Maybe it’s this new realization that Sans has a whole other life that I didn’t know about, that I’m not a part of, and that he obviously didn’t want to share with me. 

I clench my teeth and continue walking. 

He didn’t seem upset about lying to me. He seemed more upset about me finding out. And again, why didn’t he just tell me? If he meant no harm, then he wouldn’t have kept it from me. There’s something else to this that I’m missing. I’m sure there are a lot of things I don’t know about him. 

I remember, in the other timelines, asking him about his past. He never once answered me, except for that one time in his room--the first time I ever got in there. The door had been open and I’d walked in, curious to finally see what was in that mysterious room with the flaming door. 

Of course I found nothing but his empty bedroom. And when he found me in there, he fucking lost his cool. Well, Sans version of losing one’s cool. I still don’t know what he thought I was doing in there. I assume he thought it had something to do with Chara, but I don’t know why he’s so protective of that room. As far as I can tell there’s nothing special in there. It’s just a room. 

That was when he told me about how many times I’d been there before. When I asked him how all of it was possible, all he said was, 

“That’s on me.” 

I still remember that haunted look in his eye sockets. I never asked him about it again. 

There are things he doesn’t know about me as well. He stopped asking me about that too. 

I shake my head. My eyes hurt. I’m tired. I don’t want to think about this anymore. I look up and see Toriel waiting for me outside the Inn. Concern is written all over her face. 

“My child! what in the world are you doing out here in the cold without a jacket??” She fusses about me, patting various parts of my body, turning me around, checking for broken limbs.

“Mom, I’m fine, really.” I assure her. 

I’ve called her “mom” in so many other timelines that it doesn’t feel weird saying it to her so soon in this one. I accidentally called her that two weeks into living in the castle, and she had been so overjoyed I didn’t have the heart to tell her it was a mistake. She didn’t even think it was weird. She’s sweet and gentle and loving. She’s the best mom I’ve ever had. 

I really don’t want to think about my birth mother, especially not now. 

“What has happened? I thought you were at Sans’ and Papyrus’ house?” She eyes me knowingly. Jesus, does EVERYONE know about us now??? We haven’t even actually slept together. I flush, remembering just exactly how far we HAVE gone. 

“I was, but I um...we had an argument.” I tactfully evade. She narrows her eyes. 

“Did he hurt you?” she asks briskly, looking angry.

“No! No, not at all, it wasn’t anything like that, I promise!” I rush to defend him. No, he was just planning to extract Determination from my soul. No big deal. 

She still looks suspicious, but lets the subject go for now. 

“Come with me, my child, you’ll catch your death out in this cold.” She wraps an arm around my shoulders and guides me away. 

With her fire magic she activates the portal just outside the Inn. There are several of these hidden doorways throughout the Underground, but only powerful monsters can use them. A stone archway materializes in front of us, glowing with her fire magic. She gently pushes me through it before she follows. I step through the archway and come out the other side just outside the castle. She holds my hand until we are inside the Entrance Hall. It’s warm in here, but I continue to shiver.

“Go to bed, Frisk. I’ll come check on you in the morning,” she coos. She kisses me on the top of the head and shoos me away. 

I don’t bother arguing that I’m twenty five goddamn years old and am perfectly capable of deciding when to go to bed on my own. I climb the stairs to my tower room and flop down on my bed. I’m asleep within seconds, but not before I smile at the thought that she’s totally going to come check on me well before morning comes. 

I love my goat mama. 

\---

In an old timeline, in Hotland, below Alphys’ house, is the Lab. It’s dusty, it’s dark, and the moans of those souls that melted together can be heard every now and then echoing down the hall.

Sans can be found in a room that Alphys has no idea about. He’s sitting at a desk, hunched over in a brightly lit room, examining a thin, rectangular cell phone.

He’s trying, once again, to crack the password. He’s tried thousands of combinations. He’d usually be doing this in his room, but that was no longer a safe place to continue his research, since the kid had somehow broken in. He even transferred the time machine from the secret room in his house, just in case she somehow found that as well.

He puts the phone down in frustration. He rubs his brows with his bone fingers, making a soft clacking sound that sighs off the high ceiling of the bright white room.

How _had_ she gotten into his room? He knew for certain she was telling the truth when she said it had been open. He didn’t like to use that element of his magic, but he had been so disturbed to see her in his room he had made an exception. He NEVER leaves his room open. He never lifts the spell that seals the door, and the flames should have stopped her from crossing the threshold.

Ever since then, he’s been studying her. After each RESET he collects each item and specimen again and puts them here, far underneath Hotland in the Lab that isn’t in use anymore. He protects her, keeps her out of trouble so that she won’t throw them all back to her SAVE and lose what data he has.

All over the desk are items she had left behind, or things he had managed to nick from her without her noticing. Next to the desk in their own airtight capsules on pedestals are DNA samples collected from her without her knowledge. His ability to pause time made that aspect rather easy.

So far, he had only discovered TWO things: There are traces of magic in her DNA, and she doesn’t have a soul anymore. He knows Chara was responsible for the latter. He had been afraid that eventually the entity would figure out how to keep Frisk’s soul after the RESET. He had been right. He shrugs his shoulders uncomfortably and stretches his spine.

He feels, inexplicably, that somehow her cellphone holds the answer--if he could just figure out the password.

 

**RESET**

 

Several timelines later, the phantoms skulking in the shadows skitter away into darker corners when a triumphant shout rings throughout the entire Lab.

Sans holds the phone with shaking hands as he taps and scrolls through the information within. Her name is Jenny. Everything he needs to know about her is right there at his fingertips. Her photos, texts, notes, passwords.

He logs into the UnderNet on his computer and begins researching her.

 

 

(Two weeks after waking up in the fixed timeline.)

I teleport into the Lab. It’s weird seeing it in use again. In this fixed timeline I never quit working here. Alphys and I have been working on ways to break the barrier. I don’t have the heart to tell her it isn’t possible without seven human souls. One soul each to counteract the magic of the seven sorcerers who made the seal all those years ago.

In the other timelines she went off my old notes to create the Determination Extraction Machine. It was pointless to tell her each time that it wasn’t possible, because she was sure she could make it work. Nothing I ever said could convince her that she wouldn’t find some missing piece of the formula to stop the monster souls from getting trapped in their dead bodies and melting into each other. After a while I stopped trying.

In this timeline I just hang out in the Lab from time to time to keep up appearances for Alphys’ sake. Her and I, we’re the only hope the Underground’s got. So I’ll let everyone keep on hoping.

I have, however, set up my old research room again. I figure I might as well keep studying Frisk, and now I won’t have to keep recollecting the items and DNA specimens. I feel a little guilty about it, but I still need to figure out her secret. I don’t want to ask her about her life before the mountain, again. All I ever got out of her was that she didn’t want to remember and to please not make her go back there.

I think back again to that first day in the new timeline. I’d levitated her down to me and as she ran at me her eyes were shining so brightly that the cavern was lit up. I didn’t mention it to her then because I was just so relieved and overjoyed to see her.

I stand in the secret room in my lab. Everything is here, except her cellphone. I narrow my eyes, wondering if she left it behind in the overworld on purpose. I still feel like I missed something on that phone. I couldn’t find anything unusual about her on the UnderNet. She was just a twenty five year old human. She lived in a city near the mountain. She worked at a grocery store. She lived with her sister. She hadn’t done anything remarkable, really.

But I KNOW there’s magic in her. Even in this timeline it’s in her DNA.

What I really need is to get her in here so that I can study her living, physical and spiritual form. I feel gross just thinking about it. She isn’t some specimen I can experiment on. She’s my best friend.

Oh, and I’m in love with her. There’s that.

But God dammit, there’s this nagging feeling in the back of my head that won’t let me stop thinking about it. She got into my room. She had control of the timelines. None of the others had that. Even Flowey had been surprised to see someone else SAVE and RESET.

I think back to how it felt to have control of the timeline when I absorbed her soul and combined with her consciousness. Her soul was wild and powerful. I can still remember how it beat against the inside of my ribs. I want to study that soul.

The idea creeps into my head like a spider.

_No, Sans. You can’t do that. She’s a person._

Yea, but she’d never agree to it otherwise. She doesn’t want to remember. She doesn’t want to go back.

I stand in my secret research room, going back and forth in my head. After a while I sit down at the desk and begin writing down a familiar formula on a scroll of paper. 

_You’re a sick little fuck, Sans._

I shrug my shoulders and continue writing. I’ve got enough sins to guarantee me an eternity in Hell. What’s a few more? 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sans seems a little different, doesn't he? HMMMMMM INTERESTING >:)


	14. SNEAKY SKELETON

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sans needs to get his shit together. Jeez.

It’s been two days since that night. I haven’t really left my room. I still can’t figure this thing out. I have so many questions and the only person who can answer them is Sans. And Sans is the one person I don’t want to see right now. And he’s also the one person I really want to see right now. 

I’m not too surprised that recent events haven’t made me want to fuck that skeleton any less than usual. I mean, I’ve obviously already got a problem if I’m lusting after someone who has literally killed me over a hundred times.

Something about this, however, feels super different. What am I so disturbed about? So he didn’t tell me he’s a brilliant scientist who works in the Lab with Alphys. Big deal, right? That’s just it though, it shouldn’t have been a big deal, but he MADE it a big deal by not telling me. 

Just what exactly is he doing down there that he doesn’t want me to know about? I know there’s something else besides the determination thing, because I keep thinking about it all over and over and something just doesn’t add up. For instance, why was Alphys keeping this information from me as well? 

Maybe I am blowing this whole thing out of proportion. Maybe he simply didn’t want to discuss his work with me because it involves breaking the barrier? It has to do with the overworld, and we don’t discuss the overworld. 

That ball of panic climbs up my throat when I think about my life before the Underground, and I push the thought away. 

Is that why he didn’t tell me? He didn’t think I could handle it? 

I lean my head back against the wall. I’m sitting on my bed, which I’ve barely slept in since that night. 

The image of Sans leaning against the window in his room comes to pull on my heartstrings again. I feel so bad about upsetting him. God why am I not more upset with HIM for plotting to use my soul??? 

There’s a soft knock on my door. 

“Frisk? May I come in?” Toriel calls gently from outside the door. 

“Hey Frisk, open the hell up!!” Comes a loud, raucous voice. 

Oh good, Undyne is here. I roll my eyes. 

I stand up and cross the room, but the door busts open before I can get to it. 

“Frisk, your friend is here to see you!” Toriel announces, looking reprimandingly at Undyne. 

Undyne stands, towering over me, with her hands on her hips. 

“So, I heard you and Sans had a fight.” She grins sharply. 

I look around her to glare at Toriel. She has the grace to look ashamed. She scurries from the room and closes the door behind her. 

“It was nothing,” I say, not at all stoked to discuss this with anyone, especially Undyne. 

“Oh yea, it was nothing. Is that why you haven’t left your room for two days? Because of nothing? Huh?” She laughs, or really, shrieks, and crosses the room to sit on my bed. She plops down so hard that the metal frame creaks dangerously. 

I don’t move. I cross my arms. 

“Don’t give me that look. You can’t expect to sleep with Sans and not have it told far and wide. Word moves fast in the Underground.” She says matter of factly. 

“Excuse me???” In an instant it feels like my face is on fire. 

“Oh come on, you spent the night at his house after the party, didn’t you?” She raises an eyebrow at me. 

After the party. So she doesn’t know about the other night. I assume Toriel left the circumstances of our “argument” out of her retelling. 

“I told you, he brought me there because I was drunk off my ass. I slept on the couch. Nothing happened.” I furrow my brow at her. 

“Really? That’s not what Asriel said.” Undyne leans back on her elbows, enjoying this way too much. 

“Asriel?” I repeat, confused. The fuck does he have to do with this?

“Sans told him you two slept together.” Undyne informs me. 

“What? _What???_ ” 

“Asriel said he was bragging about it when he came to drop off your shoes.” Undyne is eating up this drama with gusto, her roughish grin hasn’t left her face this whole time. 

I am SO confused. First of all, we definitely didn’t sleep together that night. Secondly, Sans would not say that we did. Would he? I mean, I guess it did look fishy that he would even have a pair of my shoes. And especially the shoes I had worn to the party. 

I think back to that day when I interrupted what was surely about to be a fight at the door of the Entrance Hall. 

I close my eyes and shake my head slowly. 

“That. Little. BASTARD.” I say, my voice getting higher with each word. 

I’ll bet he loved watching Asriel squirm. 

“Yea, Asriel was pretty upset. Said he couldn't believe Sans would brag about it like that, like you were just another lay.” 

Ok, I’m sure Asriel is exaggerating. He hates Sans and would love to make him sound as evil as possible. That’s not Sans’ style. He probably just let Asriel come to his own conclusions and didn’t bother to correct him. Still, what an asshole. 

“So, what did you fight about? Is his dinkle too small?” Undyne crinkles her nose, grimacing just a little despite herself. As much as she wants to heckle me, I’m sure she’d rather not think about Sans’ dick.

“We _haven’t slept together.”_ I say as seriously as I can. 

“Yea, ok, whatever. What did you fight about, then?” She asks, dropping her callous attitude and sitting up. She seems legitimately concerned, or is at least trying to. 

I think for a moment. She would know about Sans working at the lab, wouldn’t she? Was it a secret from everyone? Fuck it, I need answers.

“Did you know that he works at the lab?” I ask her. 

“Of course. He’s the royal scientist,” Undyne says. 

He’s the royal scientist?!?! I just figured he worked with Alphys. She must have taken over after he stopped working there in the other timelines. Holy shit, just how smart IS Sans? 

“He never told me,” I say. I watch her reaction to gage how serious that piece of information is. 

She raises her eyebrows slightly, barely impressed with the news. 

“He doesn’t seem to enjoy it, from what I’ve heard from Alphys. She says he shows up every now and then, but that she does all the work.” She looks a bit peeved at that, but shrugs her shoulders dismissively. 

“Maybe he just didn’t want you to know how much of a nerd he is.” She snickers.

I doubt that. 

“Is that all you’re upset about? That he didn’t tell you about his stupid job?” She looks at me like I’m silly. 

“Does Alphys talk to you about what she’s working on down there?” I ask. 

“Sure. They’re working on ways to break the barrier.” 

“Have they figured anything out yet?” I ask, trying to sound casual. 

“Nope. Still nothing.” She says, sounding pretty confident. 

Ok, so Alphys hasn’t told her girlfriend about this whole Determination business. Something’s definitely up. 

“I guess I was just mad that he didn’t tell me, that’s all.” I say, trying to look like she’d figured me out. 

“Pffffft, I can’t believe you’re more upset about THAT than Sans telling everyone about your night of passion together.” She sticks her tongue out at me. 

I roll my eyes at her. He WILL answer for that one. 

First, however, I need to ask the sneaky skeleton a few other questions. 

\---

_SLAM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!_

“SANS! I’VE DONE IT! I’VE DONE IT!!!!” 

I take my mouth off her sweet neck, the taste of her still on my tongue. What the fuck is Alphys doing here? I look down at Frisk for a moment, trying to sort through my very occupied mind for the reason. 

Oh no. Oh fuck, oh no. 

Alphys is pounding on the door. She’s woken up Papyrus. God dammit, NO. What is she DOING??? I groan loudly, knowing that this night is about to get a lot less awesome. 

Maybe I can still salvage the situation. I tell Frisk to stay put, and she teases me for tapping her forehead with the very same hand that was just inside her. I have to reflect for just one more beautiful moment on how perfect she is for me. 

And then I teleport outside my room of paradise to stand in front of Alphys, who is quite frankly the last person I want to see right now. 

“Heya,” I begin, about to try and stop her from spouting whatever it is she’s about to blurt in front of everyone. 

Sure enough, she blurts it. And it’s the very worst possible thing she could have said. I try not to strangle the lady as she obviously couldn’t have known that the very human she’s hoping to “extract determination” from is just behind my door. And I don’t exactly want her knowin’ Frisk is in my room in the middle of the night. Word travels fast in the Underground. 

I take a moment to collect myself. My magic is already wild after being with Frisk, and if I don’t get a hold of myself we’re all gonna be burning in hell. 

“Meet me in the Lab in ten minutes.” I tell Alphys. I try to keep my anger out of my voice, but it’s pointless. Alphys looks worried, as she should. Stupid, stupid Alphys. 

Once she finally leaves I close my eyes and prepare to face Frisk. I teleport back into my room and try to stay calm when I see the look on her face. 

She’s terrified. 

OK, I expected anger, confusion, maybe a little mistrust. But terror? I don’t know what she’s thinking, but it can’t be good. 

“It’s not what you think.” I blurt out. I suddenly feel very not in control of this situation. 

“Then what is it??” She asks. She’s put herself on the other side of the bed to stay out of my reach. That makes me feel like a real peice of shit. 

What is it? What it is is that I want to study her soul, to figure out what the hell is up with her. I was going to use the decoy of extracting Determination from her to get her in the Lab to hopefully perform a few actual experiments. Obviously the machine won’t work on a soul that isn’t removed from a body, but Alphys doesn’t know that. I came up with the stupid plan a while ago, and honestly I hadn’t thought much about it since. I don’t go to the Lab much anymore. I’ve been caught up in chasing this girl around, all wrapped up in her business. I honestly didn’t think Alphys would figure out the formula so quickly. 

And God DAMMIT I told Alphys to keep it quiet. I told her I didn’t want to get anyone’s hopes up until we were sure it would work. I made it super duper clear that Frisk was sensitive about anything to do with the overworld, including breaking the barrier. 

_Heh. But that’s not why you kept it from her, is it?_

“Then how did she figure out how to do it??” 

Alright, fuck it, I have to tell the truth. Or at least, some of it. 

I stumble through a less than satisfactory explanation, and I can see on her beautiful, terrified face that she isn’t buyin’ it. 

“You’re going to use me!” 

Damn, she was this freaked out without even putting together that we would need to use her soul? Is it really that disturbing of an idea? I feel a new depth of emptiness, what with the way she’s looking at me. 

“You can’t have my soul. I’m not dying again.” 

Feels like my heart breaks open inside of me and trickles all over my insides. Christ, how could she possibly think I’d let that happen to her? I give her my planned explanation, but I know I don’t sound convincing. 

“Frisk, I would never--” I begin, stepping toward her. She backs away from me like I’m evil reincarnated. 

Fuck me. This is going much worse than I ever imagined. Why, oh why didn’t I talk to her about all of this when I had the chance? I could have mentioned that I work in the Lab. There’s nothing weird about that. I had plenty of chances to bring it up, but each time something held me back. 

Maybe it’s because of her knack of finding secret rooms. Not even a week into this new timeline she managed to find the secret room under my house. Thankfully I destroyed the time machine and put the wreckage in the lab that first day, so she never found that. But dammit, it’s as if she has some sort of sixth sense. She knows how to find things that are hidden. 

And I REALLY don’t want her finding the room I’ve filled with things I’ve stolen from her. Not to mention the DNA samples sitting in there as well. I get a stomach ache just thinking about that. Maybe I really AM a creep. 

_Oh, buddy, there’s no maybe about it._

It’s that stupid lab. Everytime I’m down there I feel odd, and if I spend too much time in there it takes me a while to get back to my usual self. Not that my usual self is much of a joy ride, but the part of me that I don’t like comes out down there in that sterile, white tomb of a lab. The whole place is full of bad memories. It reminds me too much of _him._

I stand against the window and watch her from the corners of my eye sockets as she shuts the door. I slide down onto the floor and put my face in my hands. I’ve really fucked up this time. She doesn’t trust me anymore. 

The flashlight taped to the inside of the lampshade runs out of batteries and flickers off. 

_Why don’t you just change the lightbulb?_

My magic finally gets its way and I lose it. I levitate the lamp into the air and throw it with all my might against the wall as I let out a strangled roar. My left eye burns painfully in my head and my entire body shakes. I sit there with my head against the wall, trying to keep from entirely losing myself to the wild magic tearing through me. 

“Sans?” Comes a hesitant, tiny voice from outside my door. 

“Are you ok? I heard something crash.” Papyrus says. 

Shit, I forgot to reseal the door after she left. She probably heard that too. I breathe deeply and push my magic back to its limit. 

“I’m fine, Pap. Sorry about all the noise. You just go on back to bed, ok, buddy?” I call to him. 

“...Ok.” he says sadly. He knows better than to try and open my door. 

I wait until I hear his door click shut before I teleport into the Lab. I’m going to kill Alphys. Not really, but she’s definitely going to have a bad time. 


	15. BATTLE CLOTHES

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The one with all the puns. Because every Undertale fanfiction has to have puns. Because Sans.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is short, but the next one is long so you'll be alright. Stay determined!!!! ^_^

I wrote a note for Sans and asked Undyne to deliver it for me. Sans refuses to get a cell phone, so that was the only way I could contact him. I’ve asked him to meet me at his old sentry post outside of Snowdin. I want to meet somewhere we can talk without being overheard. I don’t want to meet in his room, obviously, and if we talk at the castle there’s no way there won’t be at least three people eavesdropping. 

I stand outside the abandoned sentry station in the snow wearing a coat I borrowed from Toriel. It’s so big on me it’s like a robe, but it’s warm so I don’t mind. I look at my phone. He’s late. Which isn’t surprising. I’m nervous about seeing him again after I freaked out on him. I’ve had about a week to think about it all, and I don’t feel so disturbed about him not telling me anymore. I’m still bothered by it, but he must have had his reasons and that’s all I want to find out. 

“Heya.” 

I jump and turn around. He’s standing a good ten feet away from me. He’s wearing a familiar faded blue hoodie and black basketball shorts. Those ratty pink slippers are even MORE disgusting now that the timeline is actually progressing. Odd, those were his battle clothes. He hasn’t worn that outfit since the day we destroyed Chara. 

I realize he’s holding my forgotten jacket. He doesn’t come any closer. 

“Hi.” I say. The tension in the air is so thick I feel like I can’t get enough oxygen into my lungs. I study his face. He seems leery of me, like he’s worried I’m going to start yelling at him. 

“How are...things?” He offers lamely. 

“Things are...alright.” I frown a little. 

“You sure? Cuz it doesn’t look like it from over here.” He frowns back at me. There was definitely a twinge of annoyance in that statement. He’s mad at me. 

_HE’S_ mad at _ME?_

“Why didn’t you tell me about wanting to use my Determination?” I ask, trying to keep my voice calm and steady. I don’t want this to turn into an argument all over again. 

He shrugs. He doesn’t look like he really cares about this conversation. 

“I don’t know, kid, maybe because you get kinda... _touchy_ about certain subjects.” 

“Oh, and you don’t?” I can’t stop myself from retorting. I don’t like this casual, easygoing, passive aggressive bit he’s doing. 

“I don’t ask you about your past, and you don’t ask me about mine. It works.” He says. His voice is just as hollow as his now lightless eye sockets. 

“My past doesn’t directly affect your future, though, does it?” I shoot back at him. Crap, this isn’t the talk I was hoping to have, but he’s just so good at evading my questions. He’s a master at turning the focus of any conversation away from himself. 

“Listen, lady, if you don’t wanna help all of us get out of this place, that’s fine, but don’t go blaming me because I might actually wanna see the sun someday.” He says. I flinch when he calls me _lady._ He only ever called me that in the other timelines when he was addressing Chara. 

“Don’t even try that one on me. I want to know why you didn’t tell me you work in the Lab.” I try to steer this conversation back onto the road before it crashes in the ditch. 

He switches his weight from one foot to the other in agitation. 

“I barely work there anymore. I didn’t think it was important.” His pupils are gone, but somehow I can tell he isn’t looking at me. 

“You’re lying.” I call him out. 

“How is it fair that you gotta know everything about me, but I don’t get to know hardly anything about you?” He says, his voice rising a notch in volume. 

“Are you fucking serious right now? I don’t know _anything_ about you! All I know is that you would have _killed me_ if Toriel hadn’t made you promise not to. And it wouldn’t have mattered, because I always came back. And that’s your fault, isn’t it??” I shout at him.

“Kid, you do NOT want to go down that road.” He growls. He’s glaring at me and there’s so much static around me that my hair is starting to crackle as if I just rubbed a balloon on my head. There is absolutely no smile on his face. 

“No, I’m sick of you being so goddamn mysterious all the time! I want you to answer me, NOW!” I stamp my foot on the snowy ground. My hands are balled up into fists and my arms are clamped to my sides. 

“OK, sure, I’ll answer you. But first, why don’t you tell me why you climbed the mountain, _Jenny?”_ He sneers the name at me, and his left eye sparks into flame like an open burner. 

My heart drops into my stomach like a stone, and again that ball of panic climbs up my throat. But I’m so angry, so fucking MAD-- that’s what wins in the end. 

“HOW ABOUT YOU GO TO HELL!?!” I scream at him. 

“HOW ABOUT I TAKE YOU WITH ME???” He roars. Those sharp little fangs are glinting at me. 

We stand there for a few charged moments, staring each other down. 

He’s the first to break. He tosses my jacket on the ground unceremoniously and pops out of existence. 

I let out a furious scream that echoes off the surrounding pine trees. 

\---

(earlier that day)

She hasn’t contacted me since that night. It’s been a week. I know I messed up, but was it really that bad? 

So I didn’t tell her I work at the Lab. Big fucking whoop. I don’t do anything exciting, just kind of sit around and watch Alphys scurry to and fro. Alright, yea, I lied about the whole extracting Determination to both Frisk AND Alphys, but Frisk doesn’t know that. 

_Heh, you sure about that, buddy?_

I huff and fall backward onto my bed. My bones rattle a little on impact. I hold my hand in front of my face and flex the bone fingers. I frown and let my arm fall back to the bed. 

I feel like such a creep. I sit up again, fuming. 

Ya know what, nah. This isn’t fair at all. That little brat has all kinds of secrets she’s keeping from me. Why am I in trouble for keeping my own from her? 

I shrug my shoulders to keep that nasty feeling from crawling up my spine again. I gotta get out of this room for a while. Before I leave, I shoot a nasty look at her coat that’s been hanging on the back of my door since I found it downstairs the morning after that night. 

I teleport into the kitchen. Papyrus is cooking something in a large pot on the stove. It smells like something died in here. I really do love the guy, but Undyne’s cooking lessons really aren’t doing anybody any favors. Eh, but I’m still gonna eat whatever’s in that pot, cuz heck, I love the guy. 

“Don’t you ever walk anywhere?” Papyrus sniffs down at me. He’s always been jealous of my ability to teleport. 

“Sure I do. It’s just that our floors are a little... _ **slippery**_.” I kick one of my ratty pink slippers off my foot in his direction. He recoils from it like it’s carrying the plague. 

“SANS!! Keep those disgusting atrocities out of my kitchen!” 

“Aw, come on, bro. I know we’ve got our _is- **shoes**_ , but I bet we can _**toe** -tally_ work things out.” I wriggle my skeleton toes at him. 

He lets out an exasperated sigh and continues adding completely random ingredients to the pile of whatsit he’s stirring in that pot. 

The front door slams open. 

“HEY, Papyrus! You ready to COOK???” Undyne shouts. I roll my eyes. Doesn’t anybody know how to knock anymore? She strolls into the kitchen and sees me. She shoots me a roguish, all knowing grin. 

“Heya.” I greet her. What the hell is that look for? 

“Well, well, well. If it isn’t mister _tiny,”_ she snickers. I squint up at her. 

“Ya got somethin’ in yer teeth.” I say, pointing with my pinky at my own teeth. She quickly covers her mouth and checks her teeth with her tongue. I smirk. She realizes I’m messing with her and clenches her jaw. 

“I heard you blew it with Frisk. What happened? Didn’t you _measure up_ to her expectations??” She sneers, grinning like a piranha. 

Oho. Dick puns. She picked the wrong subject. 

“I had no idea you were so curious about it. If you wanted me to _throw you a bone,_ all you had to do was ask.” I raise my brows suggestively at her. She grimaces. 

“I was under the impression that you were differently inclined, but I’d be more than happy to take you to the _bonezone_.” I wink viciously. She shakes her head and makes a gagging sound. 

“What are you two talking about? Where’s the bonezone _?”_ Papyrus interjects innocently. He looks miffed that he isn’t in on the joke. 

“Never mind, Papyrus.” Undyne consoles him. She glares at me, accepting defeat. 

Heh, that’s what happens when you challenge the pun master. 

“Here!” She shoves a piece of paper in my face. 

“It’s from Frisk.” She explains grumpily. 

I snatch the paper from her fingers maybe a bit too quickly. That shit-eating grin spreads across her face again. 

“I bet she’d forgive you if you’d be the _bigger_ person and apologize. Maybe stop being so _private_ and let her see your _soft_ side. I’m sure she’d feel _satisfied_ if you made an effort, no matter how _small.”_

I clutch the paper in my hand and stare at her. I wanna be mad, but I’m just so damn proud of her! That was like poetry. 

“Listen, Undyne, seriously, if you and Alphys don’t work out…” 

“GET OUT!” She commands, pointing at the exit. 

“Yes, leave us alone. We have cooking to do! Undyne is going to teach me how to make salsa.” Papyrus shoos me away. 

“Alright, alright, I’ll leave you to it. Wouldn’t wanna be _**jalapeño**_ business.” 

They both groan, and I wink before I teleport. 

Back in my room, I open the note and read the disappointingly short message inside. She wants to meet me later today at my old sentry station. Why can’t we meet here, or at the castle? Does she really hate me so much that she doesn’t even want to be seen with me??

I crumple the paper in my fist and it starts to smoke. I think it’s time to break out my battle clothes. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to everyone who has commented and given kudos!!! seriously makes my day :P


	16. ON FIRE

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sans finally loses his SHIT.

I stomp away from the sentry station, swearing loudly at Sans even though I know he can’t hear me. I don’t even pick up my jacket; I don’t want the stupid thing. I’m not going back to Snowdin right now. If I have to walk by that asshole’s house I’ll be tempted to burn it down. That little bastard. Stupid, short, evil little skeleton monster. 

It’s getting dark, but I keep walking. If I stop walking I’ll explode. On and on I walk, weaving between snowy pine trees, skidding over frozen pools. It’s twilight and snow is falling cold and silent from the sky. It still perplexes me how this place has days and nights and weather, being under a mountain and all, but I’ve chalked it up to magic, and I don’t let it bother me too much anymore. 

I’m so deep in thought that I almost run face first into a stone wall. I look up and realize it’s the giant door that leads into the ruins. I’ve been back here once since Sans and I came through it on the first day of the new timeline. I place my hand against its frozen surface and push lightly. It cracks down the middle and opens for me. 

The ruins are pretty much the same as they always were. Little monsters still live here, along with puzzles and traps and labyrinths. The one thing that is different is Toriel’s house. It’s not a house in this timeline, because she never left the castle. 

I don’t know why, but that thought makes me sad. Right now, I wish it were still just her and I, alone in that little house. I walk down the dark corridor and up the stairs into the stone building where the house used to be. It’s just an old ruin. It’s dark and dusty, and it’s only purpose is as an entrance to the Ruins. 

The Ruins are no obstacle for me now. I remember every puzzle, every trap, every maze. I’ve been through them all an uncountable number of times. My only qualm is how eerie this place is. I feel like I should be hiding, as though something is following me. 

Eventually, I enter the cavern where I fell. For a moment I’m expecting to see Flowey rooted to the ground in the middle of the expansive room, but there are no golden flowers to be found here in this timeline. 

The moment we destroyed Chara flashes into my mind. It had been odd, being one consciousness with someone, especially Sans. That was the moment when I remembered the events in the other timelines. 

The feeling that someone is creeping up on me becomes overwhelming, and I have to look around to make sure I’m alone. It’s so dark, how can I be sure? I want to run back to the safety of the Ruins, but I refuse. I have to check. I have to make sure it’s still there. 

I walk across the massive cavern, looking up at the dark ceiling where I know there is an opening to the outside world. I shiver and look back down to guide my feet. I come upon a large bolder and lay on my stomach to reach into a hole hidden underneath. My hand closes around it, and I breathe a sigh of relief. 

I pull out the cell phone. It’s covered in dirt. Its screen is shattered, smashed several times over. It does not turn on. Good. I destroyed it that first day and came back here when I could to hide it. I can’t risk Sans finding it again. 

_Where are you going???_

_Up the mountain. I have to go, it won’t stop ringing._

_No, you can’t go up there, what are you thinking? It’s the middle of the night._

_I have to, it won’t stop ringing._

_You can’t! Stop! You can’t!!_

**JENNY!!!**

I scream and drop the phone. I stand up and kick it away. I hold my hands over my ears and tell myself over and over that my name is Frisk. I’m running, running as fast as I can back through the ruins. 

_My name is Frisk!_

\---

I throw her jacket on the ground and teleport the hell out of there. 

“FUCKING GOD DAMMIT CHRIST CHRISTMAS!! FUCK!! SHIT!!” I’ve miscalculated the jump and I’ve landed in my closet. I tear the clothes from the hangers and stagger into my room. 

It’s dark, as usual. The flashlight is dead. It’s always dead. 

“I FUCKING HATE THIS PLACE!” I roar. My eyes land on the stupid pet rock Papyrus got for me all those years ago. I pick it up and chuck it at the window. The glass shatters and the rock drops out of sight. 

“SERVES YOU RIGHT YOU MOTHER FUCKER!!!!” I roar, not entirely sure who I’m talking to. 

Her stricken face flashes through my mind. I can’t believe I called her Jenny. 

_Oh god, what have I done?_

Just then, my entire body ignites, and I’m engulfed in a raging, blue inferno. 

_SHIT!!!_ Oh no, oh no, oh fuck! I have to get out of the house before I burn it down! No, but my magic is out of control, if I teleport now I’ll get lost in the void! OK, use your ice magic! Come on Sans, focus! stop panicking! SHIT, I’M PANICKING! 

The pain is quickly rising in intensity, but I manage to stumble to the door and wrench it open. Soon all I can hear is the roar of flames and the sharp crackling of electricity. My insides are searing. My left eye socket is white hot, and I’m losing vision. 

I fall down the stairs. I’m crumpled on the floor in agony. I see Undyne run into the living room. She shouts something, but I can’t hear her. Papyrus swims into my vision, holding the hose we keep attached to the kitchen sink for just such an occasion. He pushes Undyne out of the way. 

Water jets into my face, into my eyes, into my mouth, into my nose. I scream and scream. Words are coming out of my mouth, but I can’t comprehend them. Steam engulfs us all as the water instantly boils and evaporates off my bones. Electricity arcs in bright white lines from my body. The lights in the house go out. 

Eventually the sizzling stops and my insides stop melting, but not before I black out. 

\---

“You sure have been over a lot. Sorry, I mean, not that I mind. I mean, oh no, I didn’t mean to make it sound like I don’t like having you over. Oh nooooooooo…” Napstablook wails quietly from his spot on the floor. I smile despite my horrible mood. 

It’s been a week since my shouting match with Sans. Ever since, I’ve been avoiding Undyne like the plague. She keeps trying to come see me, and every time I sneak out to visit my ghost friend. I like being around him, because he’s even more introverted than I am. So, he’s perfectly happy to just let me chill in his house while he works on his mixed CD. He doesn’t ask me annoying questions, unlike Undyne. 

Right now we’re both lying on his floor and staring up at the ceiling. We enjoy feeling like garbage together. 

“I’m glad you like having me over, Blooky. But you know you can kick me out any time, whenever you want to be alone. I get it.” I say. 

“I knoooow.” He sounds happy...ish. 

“Undyne has been looking for you.” He says spookily. I groan. Don’t I fucking know it. Getting to Napstablook’s house is tricky without her seeing, them being neighbors, but I know the best place to hide from the fish lady is right under her nose. 

Blooky’s front door slams open. 

“THERE YOU ARE!!!” 

SHIT. She found me. Doesn’t anybody knock anymore??!!

“Oh nooooooooo…” Blooky wails half heartedly as Undyne scoops me off the floor before I can scramble away and throws me over her shoulder. 

“You’re coming with me, PUNK!” She snarls. 

“I DON’T WANT TO TALK ABOUT IT!!!” I yell at her, struggling even though I know it’s useless. 

“I DON’T CARE.” She trudges over to her house, carrying me like a sack of potatoes. 

She plops me down on a chair at her table. 

“What kind of tea do you want???” She barks at me.

“I don’t want any tea!!” I yell and cross my arms. 

“You’re going to have some tea and you’re going to LIKE IT.” She pounds the table with her fist. 

“FINE!” 

“GOOD!” 

She stomps over to the counter and puts the water on to boil. I sit in my chair, fuming. She stays silent as well. The kettle whistles, and she clunks a mug of scalding hot tea on the table in front of me. She sits across from me and leans back in her chair. She crosses her arms and taps her fingers against her elbow. 

“What the hell happened with you and Sans?” 

I make a scoffing noise. To her credit she does not flip her shit.

“You guys must have really had it out. I was there when Sans came back from your little spat.” 

I’m glaring at her. 

“So?” I snap. 

“SO,” her nostrils flare, “he totally O.M.’d!!!” She still looks angry with me, but there’s also a note of amazement in her voice. 

“O.M.’d?” I frown at her. 

“Over Magicked!!!” She says impatiently. 

“I don’t know what that means,” I say bluntly. 

“Aggh!! Humans!” She shakes her head. 

“Look, monsters are mostly made of magic. And sometimes, when we get really emotional about something, our magic goes crazy, and we can’t control what happens.” She explains quickly. 

I can’t deny that I’m intrigued. I raise my eyebrows at her. 

“So?” 

“SO!! When Sans came back from your little spat, he fucking _exploded!!!”_ She’s watching me, waiting for me to react. 

“What do you mean?” I ask warily.

“It was insane!!” She slams her hands down on the table in excitement, completely forgetting that she’s supposed to be mad at me. 

“Pap and I were having our cooking lesson, which was running late because he totally messed up the recipe, and we had to start over again. And then from upstairs we hear this crash!” It’s like she’s been dying to tell me this ever since it happened and is overflowing with morbid pleasure. 

“And then Sans’ was yelling something at the top of his lungs. And then he fucking fell down the stairs, and he was _ON FIRE!!!”_ She’s smiling, but seems like she knows she shouldn’t be smiling, but just can’t help it, so cool is her story. 

My stomach does a weird little flip. 

“He was on fire???” I ask, forgetting that I’m not supposed to care. 

“Yea! And he broke his arm! And...and…” her face falls a bit and she doesn’t seem so excited anymore. My stomach clenches, and I start to feel nauseous. 

“He was screaming. The fire was so hot I couldn’t get close to him. It must have hurt really bad.” She seems a bit disturbed now. I’m clutching at the wooden table with white knuckles.

“And then Papyrus pushed me out of the way and started hosing him down!” She perks back up. 

“Hosing him down?!?” I suddenly stand up and my hands are flat on the table, supporting my weight. 

“YEA! He had a hose attached to the kitchen sink!!! And steam went everywhere, and we almost got electrocuted!!!” 

“WHAT??”

“YEA!!!!! Electricity was coming off of him like lightning!!! It was bananas!!!” 

“WHAT????” She doesn’t seem to notice how distressed I am. 

“Oh man it was nuts!! He kept screaming something about getting gassed.” 

“Gassed?” 

“I don’t know, he was just sort of yelling random shit. And then he passed out.” She says as she stares off into space, still enraptured by the retelling of her tale. 

“IS HE OK???” I demand. 

“He’s alright. Alphys fixed him up the best she could. He was in pretty bad shape though…might take a while for him to get back to normal...” 

“Why didn’t anyone tell me?!?!?” I’m starting to get frantic. I want to run over there right now and make sure my favorite skeleton is OK. 

“Why the hell d’you think I’ve been tracking you down for the last week?!?!” She screeches.

“And he told the others not to tell you, but he ain’t the boss of me.” She jabs her thumb at her chest. 

“I have to go!” I squeak. I spin around and start running toward the door, but a giant, blue, glowing spear flies in front of me and pierces the wooden floorboards, blocking my path. 

“DID I SAY YOU COULD LEAVE???” 

“It’s my fault!!!” I yell, turning on her. How does she not understand how serious this is?!?!

“What??” She seems taken aback, finally noticing how upset I am. 

“You said monsters _over magic_ because they get emotional!! It was because of our fight!” I say shrilly. I have to get over there! Right now! 

“Oh man, that’s not what I meant. Well, it’s true, but...when most monsters O.M. they just kind of freak out and maybe destroy the house. Sans, though, he’s a really strong monster, so he’s gotta have so much magic in there that he’s about to blow up at any second. Paps said that’s why they keep the hose around, just in case.” She starts chewing on her lip, like she’s thinking about something. 

“Why can’t I leave??” I ask impatiently. 

“I want to know what you were arguing about.” She stands up and glares at me with her hands on the table. 

We’ve come full circle. But I don’t want to talk to her about this. 

“That’s none of your business.” 

“It’s my business if it involves my girlfriend.” She says carefully. I shiver at the look on her face. 

“Ever since you asked me about Sans working in the lab, I started thinking that I really _don’t_ know what they’re working on down there. When I asked her about it, she started acting weird. I know when she’s lying, it’s not very hard to figure out. Once Sans was healed up, she came home in tears. She won’t tell me what’s wrong, and Sans won’t talk to me. So _you’re_ going to tell me. And don’t try acting like you don’t know.” 

I stand there and go over my options. Which are none, because it’s Undyne. If she wants something, she gets it. 

I explain to her that Sans and Alphys have figured out a way to use my Determination to power seven monster souls to break the barrier. I carefully leave out anything I know that has to do with previous timelines. 

“And they didn’t tell you???? Or me????” She exclaims. She looks furious. 

“Sans said it was because I get...emotional about stuff that has to do with the overworld…” I explain awkwardly. 

“Well, that’s absolute bullshit. If they’re going to use your soul for something, they should at least ask.” 

“Right???” I jump on the hate train. 

“Well, I’m going to have a talk with Alphys.” She humphs and crosses her arms. 

“Totally.” I nod. 

“And _you..._ you should go see Sans.” She suddenly seems sad. My heart starts sinking again. She looks at me and there’s a softness in her eyes that I don’t often see. 

“He seems really...down. Apparently he’s not teleporting anymore, which is fine by me, but it’s got Pap really freaked out. You should go over there and try to...make up with him.” Her face had been drawn but with that last sentence a wide, evil grin spreads across her face. 

“I bet he’d _perk up_ with you around.” 

“Undyne, no.” I stomp my foot. She can’t say shit like that at a time like this. 

“You know, when he was on fire all of his clothes burned up too. I saw him totally naked.” She sticks her tongue out at me. 

She holds her thumb and pointer finger at a miniscule distance and puts her hand in front of my face. 

“Not even _this_ big.” She laughs evilly. 

I shake my head at her, not at all amused. 

“You said he didn’t want you to tell me about this in the first place. What if he doesn’t want to see me??” I suddenly realize it myself, and I’m looking to her to contradict me.

“He’s being stupid. You go over there and make him see you.” She says, like it’s just that simple. 

So I leave the house before she changes her mind. 

Once I finally make it to his house, I suddenly feel too nervous to knock on the door. In fact, I’m hiding behind the garage so that nobody inside the house sees me. Sans obviously doesn’t want to see me or he would have contacted me. 

His accident was my fault, technically. If I hadn’t been so horrible to him...I have to make sure he’s ok. The way Undyne made it sound, I honestly don’t know what to expect. After a few more moments of indecision I make my feet move and walk up to the front door. 

I knock once before the door flies open, and I’m engulfed in a very Papyrus hug. 

“HUMAN!” He sobs. 

“Hey Papyrus.” I pat his back awkwardly as my feet dangle a few feet off the ground. 

“It’s been so long since I’ve seen you!! I was worried you would never come back! Did you lose something out behind the garage? You were out there for quite a long time…” Thankfully he can’t see my face because I’m probably red as a beet. 

“Is Sans home?” I ask, my voice muffled against his chest. 

He puts me back down rather abruptly. 

“Oh...ermm...Sans...he’s um…” I notice he starts sweating. How a skeleton sweats, I don’t know, but little droplets are forming on his forehead. 

“Papyrus?” I ask. His eyes keep darting around like he’s looking for a way out of this. He’s wringing his gloved skeleton hands anxiously. I begin to suspect what’s going on here.

“Where is he?” I ask firmly. He breaks. 

“Oh, Human! I can’t lie to you! Sans is here, but he told me to tell you that he wasn’t--” 

Papyrus is very suddenly and a bit forcefully pushed out of the way. Sans takes his place in the doorway. He’s looking at me like he’s seeing a ghost. And he’s already seen an actual ghost, so that’s saying something. 

“Heya,” he says too quietly. He scratches the back of his skull and tries to grin, but he only manages a half hearted grimace. 

I stare at him, shocked. He looks...different. His t-shirt and sweatpants are disheveled and wrinkled, like he's been wearing them for too long. Is it possible for a skeleton to look thin? His clothes hang off his body too loosely. Somehow, his face seems sunken in, like he’s a bit malnourished. How can a skeleton be malnourished?? 

The most evident physical difference is a wide, bright white scar running through his left eye socket, down to his mouth and up his skull. The thing that gets to me most is his obvious distress at my presence. 

“Are you ok?” is all I get out. My throat closes up and my eyes start to sting. I don't, however, let myself cry. This isn’t about me. 

“I’m alright. Don’t you worry about me.” He says unconvincingly. His voice is raspy and hollow, like it hasn’t been used in a while. He won’t look me in the eyes for more than a second or two. 

I know it isn’t allowed, somehow, but I want so badly to hug him. I don’t move my feet, because it doesn’t feel like the right thing to do, but he must see my body lean forward slightly because he backs up sharply and his eye sockets widen. He looks like he wants to run away.

My heart shatters into little tiny pieces.

“Sans…” I stand there and hold back a flood of tears. He seems to get a hold of himself, but I can see that his chest is still rising and falling at a much faster rate than usual. 

“I’m so sorry.” I whisper. 

“Nah...hey, listen...it wasn’t your fault…” He stares at the ground and puts his hands in his pants pockets. His shoulders slump forward. 

“But maybe we shouldn’t, uh...I don’t think I can...it’s probably best we don’t…” he just can’t seem to get it out. 

“Sans?” My face feels numb. I don’t really need to ask what he’s trying to say. 

He looks into my eyes. 

“I’m sorry, Kiddo.” His voice breaks at the pet name. 

“I’ll see you around.” He says firmly, but sadly. He slowly closes the door in my face. I spin around and walk away from the house, stifling a sob with the sleeve of my jacket.

I’m pretty sure I just got dumped. 

\---

I close the door on her. I stand there and hang my head. I hear her walk away and my shoulders begin to shake. I watch as tears drip onto my charred pink slippers, the only survivors of what I was wearing when I lost control.

It’s gonna _kill me_ how much I love that kid. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!! I'm so sorry :( (tears unending)


	17. HIBERNATION

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's a beautiful day outside...

(Three weeks later)

I wake up early in the morning to the sound of my door shutting softly. I turn over in my bed and see a slice of pie sitting in the middle of my floor. Toriel’s been leaving a slice of pie in my room every day since the day I got dumped. 

She’d caught me just before I could sneak up to my room without anyone seeing me. When she asked me what was wrong I burst into tears AGAIN. I was trying to tell her that I got dumped, but what came out was, 

“Got dunked.” Then I started laughing AND crying, like a maniac. She straight up cradled me in her arms like a baby and carried me up to my room. 

I roll onto my back and stare up at the ceiling. My room is in one of the towers, so the room is round. The ceiling cones upwards to a point, but if you let your eyes go out of focus just a smidge, you can make it look like it’s pointing down at you instead. 

I’ve been in here too long. It’s starting to smell like bad breath and B.O. I haven’t showered in a few days...or has it been a week? Who cares. I roll out of bed and sit on the edge for a few moments. I glare down at the slice of pie. Toriel made this herself, out of the pure, motherly love in her beautiful heart. I don’t want to eat it, just like all the others, but I’ll feel bad if I don’t take at least one bite before tossing it. 

After that I open my window and scrape the rest of the pie off the plate. I watch as it drops down and down and makes a splash in the moat below. There are water monsters who live in there, and sure enough, a big green salamander looking thing pops up and grabs the pie. I think I see it look up at me, and I’m almost sure it gave me a thumbs up, but it’s so far away I can’t be certain. 

I decide that’s enough physical activity for now and climb back into my bed. 

My cell phone rings, and I’m jolted awake. I panic for a second, thinking about my other cell phone, but then I remember where I am. I reach under my pillow and flip the phone open. Alphys is calling me. That’s weird, she usually just texts. 

“Hello?” 

“H-Hey! Alphys here! But I guess you already knew that because of the, um, caller ID. But, um, anyways--it’s Alphys.” 

There’s an awkward pause.

“Yea?” I encourage her. My brain is foggy, and I have to cough a few times to clear the phlegm from my throat. 

“So, um, I called to tell you-- Undyne thinks I should, no _I think_ I should...apologize?” She rambles. 

“Ok?” I’m still not entirely following. 

“B-but I wanted to do it in person. There are some...things I th-think you need to know.” She sounds even more nervous than she usually does on the phone. 

My brain finally clicks into not zombie mode. I realize what she’s getting at. 

“You mean about my determin--” 

“YES! Yes, that, and...other things. But please, n-not over the phone!” She says frantically. 

“Can you meet me here? At my house, I mean?” She asks awkwardly. 

“Ummmm…” I look down at my stained t-shirt and pajama pants. I look over at the full length mirror against the wall and catch sight of myself. Gross. My hair is so greasy it almost looks wet. Not to mention the smell coming from my pits. 

“Yea, um. Give me, like, an hour and a half.” 

“Fantastic! I-Ill see you then!!” She sounds relieved and proud of herself for having yet another successful phone conversation.

I hang up the phone and give my brain a moment to prepare for being awake for more than a few minutes. Thirty minutes later I’m washed and dressed and looking...passable? I’d give my reflection a healthy C minus. 

I venture out into the castle. It’s quiet, but it’s always quiet. The Dreemurrs are not a rowdy group. I make it all the way to the throne room before I meet an obstacle. Asriel, Prince of the Underground, is sitting criss-cross applesauce on his father’s throne. He doesn’t see me at first, and I take a moment to appreciate how freaking cute this scene is. 

He’s got his feet all tucked up under him. He’s reading a book, so engrossed in it that he is chewing mindlessly on his thumb nail. He’s wearing blue jeans, a red shirt and a clashing neon purple beanie on his head, with holes cut out for his long, white, sharp horns. And he looks ridiculously out of place on that ornate, royal throne. 

He finally notices me and sits up. 

“Frisk!” He looks surprised to see me. Delighted, but surprised. I try to smile at him, but I’m not sure if my face remembers how. He closes his book and not so gracefully untangles his longs legs. I see that he's wearing bright green shoes. Dude has no color sense. 

“What’re you up to?” He asks, striding over to me. I always forget how freaking TALL this guy is. 

“Alphys wants to meet with me…” I say, trying to make it clear that he can’t come without hurting his feelings. 

He smiles. “Can I walk you there?” 

Huh. Clever. 

I stare up at him, thinking. He keeps eye contact with me like a master, not abashed at all by my silence. His eyes are vibrant purple with black slits for pupils. Intense as SHIT. Wait, his hat perfectly matches his eyes. Dude might actually have color sense. 

This goat...wolf...wolf-goat...goat-wolf? WHATEVER, this monster guy--he’s totally into me. Like, REALLY REALLY into me. And he’s sweet and kind and honest….and cute. _And tall._

I smirk sadly. He hated that. I frown. FUCK! Stop THINKING ABOUT HIM. 

“Yea! You can walk me. That’d be nice,” I say very suddenly. Asriel only looks startled for a moment, and then he smiles happily. He’s super stoked. 

There is no portal to the Lab, so the walk is kinda long. Lot’s of elevators and suspended walkways. Asriel has NO PROBLEM keeping a conversation going. I’m an introvert, so talking is not my strong suit, but he’s got it covered. There’s barely a moment of silence until he asks, 

“So...How are you...feeling?” He’s looking down at me from the corners of his eyes. I refrain from rolling my eyes. I’m sure by now the entire Underground has been updated on my relationship status. Word travels fast down here. 

“I’m fine.” I say shortly. I can tell he’s not buying my shit, but he doesn’t push the subject. 

“Cool. I was wondering if you’d like to hang out sometime.” He asks. WOW, not wasting any time, are we? 

“Yea, maybe.” I say noncommittally. 

He laughs. “I don’t bite, you know.” He smirks down at me. 

I am immediately reminded of someone who DOES bite. I clench my teeth. STOP. FUCKING. THINKING ABOUT HIM. 

“Ok, let’s hang out.” I say. I’m a little surprised to hear the words come out of my mouth. He looks surprised too, but recovers quickly. 

“Sweet! There’s this new place that just opened up in Waterfall, everyone’s been talking about it. We should check it out.” 

“Cool.” I agree. 

“Awesome. I’ll pick you up tomorrow around seven.” He grins down at me. This guy is so smooth. He has fangs too, but those suckers are long and look sharp as hell. 

FRISK, YOU HAVE GOT TO STOP THINKING ABOUT HIM. 

I smile probably a little too big and say, “Sounds awesome!” 

He looks ecstatic. We walk into the Hotel owned by Mettaton. Monsters watch us not so inconspicuously as we make our way through the lobby. Great, by this time tomorrow everyone in the Underground will think I’m hooking up with Asriel, their prince. 

I hear Asriel snickering beside me. 

“They’re going to think we’re sleeping together.” He stage whispers down at me. 

I gape up at him. 

“You did not just say that!!!” I hiss at him. I push him playfully. I’m actually smiling now. I guess my face DOES remember how. His eyes light up mischievously as he grins down at me and then he lets out a loud, open mouthed laugh that echoes off the high ceiling of the Hotel. I’ve heard that same laugh before, in other timelines. That laugh, Flowey’s laugh, was distorted and chilling. THIS laugh, Asriel’s laugh, is sincere, contagious and makes you feel all warm and cozy inside. Both are equally dangerous. 

My face is warm, and it’s not entirely just from the interested and intrusive looks we are getting from the monster crowd in this place. I look forward and try not to look too happy. Which really shouldn’t be a difficult task, but this guy’s got me giggling. Once we are clear of the Hotel I punch him in the arm, which hurts my hand. 

“Don’t embarrass me like that,” I say, trying to sound serious. 

“But you’re so cute when you’re embarrassed,” He pouts. 

“Don’t.” I point in his face. He scrunches his nose at me. I break and giggle. His purple eyes flash and his fangs glint as he laughs. 

“Well, thanks for the company.” He says. I look over and there’s Alphy’s lab, right next to us. Shit, I was so distracted I didn’t even realize. Have we really been walking for that long?

“Silly, you were the one who walked me.” I tease him. 

“Even so. It was nice.” He reaches out and flicks the tip of my nose. It doesn't hurt, but I smack his hand away. I should be annoyed, but I'm not. 

“Later, alligator.” He says, smiling at my expression. He gives me a short wave and turns sharply, but gracefully, away to head back into the core. I watch him go probably longer than I should. 

I knock on Alphys’ door and hear a familiar, panicked scrambling from inside. 

“J-just a second!!!!” She shrieks from inside. 

\---

I’m dying. I know I’m dying. This has to be what dying is. The pain is so hellish I hope I’m dying. Darkness starts to creep up my spine and cover my eyes. 

_No, Sans, no! Come on, buddy, hold on!_

But the pull is too strong. I’m being dragged head first into the void. I pop out of existence, and the pain stops so suddenly it’s as if it never happened. I open my eyes (or were they already open?) and see nothing but inky blackness. It’s a dark so thick I can feel it in my bones.

“Hello, Sans. Still making terrible jokes, I see.” He says, materializing in front of me. His words are not sounds--they appear in strange symbols above his head. He puts his hands in the pockets of his long white lab coat and grins listlessly at me. 

_No no no no no no no NO!_

I’m not prepared for this fight. There isn’t enough sea tea in the entire ocean to ready me for this fight. I look for the exit, but I know as well as he does that I can’t flee. 

“Ready?” He asks. 

I’m too terrified to speak. 

“You always were a coward.” He smiles reminiscently. 

And the fight begins. Lightning comes at me from all sides. I can’t dodge. The pain begins as suddenly as it stopped. I’m screaming and he’s laughing, but there is no noise in the void. My left eye socket is splitting open. 

“Tell Frisk I said _hello.”_ His smile widens dangerously. He's almost got me. 

_She came back just for me._

He frowns. I start to laugh, and I rip my soul out of his grasp. He screams after me as I claw my way out of the void and back into existence. 

“She has what you need!!! You can go back!!!!”

I wake up in the Lab, hooked up to at least seven different machines. They hum and whir quietly in their places. It’s dark, but the blinking red and green and yellow lights give the room a dull glow. Alphys is asleep in a chair next to my bed. Everything hurts, but I can tell she was able to mend me. 

His words echo silently in my head. My heart begins to sprint and one of the machines starts beeping. He wants Frisk. He wanted her down here all along. No, _I wanted her down here all along!_

Alphys wakes up. I’m really freaking out now. The machines are beeping, sounding and alarming all around us. The pain in my head starts up again.

“Sans!!! You have to calm down! You MUST! I don’t know if I can stop it again!!” She pleads with me, tears running down her face. I breathe in. And out. In. And out. 

The machines stop their racket and go back to whispering quietly. 

“Oh my god, Sans! It was almost too late this time! What happened? They said you had a fight with Fr--” 

I grab her wrist and she stops talking instantly. 

“The DT project. We’re scrapping it,” I say. My voice is raspy, and it hurts to speak. 

“W-what?? But, we--I spent so long--we’ve worked so hard--we haven’t even asked Fri--” 

“She will not step foot in this lab, do you understand me?” I glare at her. She pales. 

“But--” she tries again. 

“She will NOT step foot in this lab, _do you understand me?”_ I grit my teeth. The machines start beeping again. 

“OK!! OK! Alright! FINE!” Alphys stands up angrily, and I let go of her wrist. 

“But, I’m not keeping it from her anymore.” She glares down at me. The machines get louder.

She folds her arms. I know she’s made up her mind, because she’s being so confident. 

“She already knows, Ok??? She found out about the project, and she hates me now! So just leave it alone!!” I choke out. My throat burns and the pain in my eye is making my vision blurry. 

“How did she…?” She looks baffled, her anger pushed aside momentarily by her curiosity. 

“It doesn’t matter! It’s over.” It’s all over. 

“Well, I’m still going to apologize to her.” She seems to finally notice how loud it’s gotten in here.

“You need to calm down!” She shrieks at me, throwing her hands up in defeat. She stomps away and slams the door behind her. 

I breathe in. And out. In. And out. 

\---

She wrenches her door open and stands there looking nervous. 

“Hello! Frisk! C-come on in!” She says in her high, nasally voice. It’s not my favorite voice in the world, but I love her so I’d never say so even if I was being tortured. 

“Heyyy….Alphys?” I step into her house and come to a grinding hault. I look around. I’m kinda grossed out. 

Alphys has never been a very tidy person. Usually there’s bound to be what I’ve come to call a “computer nest” on her table downstairs. And yea, I don’t touch that table. But THIS. There is basically a garbage dump with a computer perched atop it. 

She’s trying to shield it from view with her body, so I pretend I can’t see it and decide not to ask any prodding questions. 

“So...you wanted to...talk to me?” I try to initiate things. She looks at me like she’s regretting having me over already. She’s wringing her hands and I can tell she’s about to get too nervous and shut down.

“Alphys, come on, I don’t have time for this.” I huff. Which is hilarious, because I DO have time for this. I’ve got all the time in the world. I put my hands in my jacket pockets, think about SOMEONE again, and immediately take them out. I freeze for a moment and then let my arms hang awkwardly at my sides. I cross my arms. She’s been watching me intently this whole time. 

“WHAT???” I snap at her. She jumps. 

“UM, ok, yes, talking. We should talk. But um, not here.” She gestures at the pile of garbage beside us. 

“Come upstairs.” She walks away and beckons me to follow. 

Her room is the opposite of what we’ve just left downstairs. It’s neat and tidy and barely lived in. It makes sense, she’s probably usually in the lab or downstairs on her computer. She’s never in here to mess it up. 

This timeline’s Alphys is relatively the same as the other timelines. She’s still a huge nerd. She’s still loves anime. Kissy Kitty Meow Meow 2 (or whatever the fuck it is) is still her favorite show. She’s still in love with Undyne (and they are already together). But in this timeline, she never created Flowey or those disturbing, mutant, phantom monsters, so she’s about fifty times happier than she ever was in the timelines that I knew her. 

The way she’s acting right now, though, reminds me a lot of that secretive, jumpy Alphys I used to know. 

“Alphys, what’s up? You’re acting weird.” Weirder than usual, anyways. She points at the chair she’s pulled away from her desk. I sit down on it and tuck my feet up under me, criss-cross applesauce style. I feel a tiny smile tugging at my mouth. 

“So, Frisk.” She begins, standing in front of me with her hands folded like she’s about to give a presentation. I sit quietly and wait for her to go on. She starts to sweat. Ugh, I’ll be here all night at this rate. Not like I have anything better to do…

“I heard you and Sans broke up!!!!” She blurts out. My eyes actually involuntarily shut against her loud, shrill voice. I groan. There goes my good mood. 

“Seriously? We weren’t even together for goodness sake, not really. God, doesn’t anyone have anything better to do??” I rant. 

“It’s just that, I heard you fought about the Determination Project-- because he--WE didn’t tell you about it. I just wanted to make it clear that we had no intentions of doing anything against your will. We decided it was better not to tell anybody about it because we weren’t sure if it would work in the first place. And I wanted to tell you, but he said it might be better if he handled that because of how distressed you get when reminded of the out-” her eyes shift back and forth, like she just stopped herself from saying something offensive. She eyes me like she’s afraid I’m going to start freaking out on her. I give her a little nod.

“Anyways...I just wanted to say I’m sorry.” She says. I can tell she’s sincerely upset with herself for being even slightly responsible for my singleness. 

“Hey...Alphys, it’s ok,” I say. I don’t really know what else to say. Honestly I’m over the whole Determination thing. I just want to go back to when I didn’t know. 

“But you shouldn’t give up on Sans!” She exclaims shakily. 

I don’t know what to say to that. She’s staring me down and now I’m the one getting sweaty. 

“You guys are totally meant to be together! Ever since you showed up, he’s like a totally different person! You need each other, just look at yourself!” She gestures to all of me. I raise an eyebrow at her. Like she has any right to comment on my state of appearance. Her lab coat is stained and wrinkled and her breath smells like she hasn’t brushed her teeth in at least three days. 

“Why do you care so much about who I’m dating?” I ask, thoroughly weirded out. 

“You and Sans are my one true pair!!!! You can’t just leave him for Asriel! I know he’s a prince, and he’s totally the obvious choice, but Sans/Frisk is a ship you can’t sink!!!!” She declares, slamming her fist into her open hand. 

Ok, I was weirded out before, but now I’m really REALLY weirded out. 

“First of all, I didn’t leave anybody. HE broke up with ME. Secondly, why the hell would you think I’m with Asriel!??” I demand. Why am I blushing so hard? 

“Oh come on, he walked you here!” She smirks. 

“How do you _know_ that???” Word can’t possibly travel THAT fast. 

Her expression changes from smug to guilty in a beat. 

“I uh… I saw you.” She mutters under her breath. 

Oh hold on. Wait up a second. I know what’s going on here. OF COURSE I know what’s going on here. 

“You’ve been watching me, haven’t you? On your cameras?” I glare at her and facepalm. 

“Ehehe...yes! I’m sorry, I know I promised I wouldn’t anymore, but you’re life has the most drama right now, and I’m a sucker for drama!” She rambles. I stand up and heave a giant sigh. 

“You can’t watch me like that, I’m not one of your shows!” I turn and head toward the escalator that leads down and out of her room. Just like the other timelines, Alphys was watching me the moment Sans and I stepped out of the Ruins on that first day. I knew she would be, and I pretended to find out. She told me she would stop, but I’m not surprised she didn’t. Honestly I’m not really that pissed. I’ve been through this with her about a hundred times so the idea of her watching my life on one of her monitors doesn’t feel that intrusive anymore. 

“Wait, there’s something else I wanted to say!” She rushes after me.

“What?” I say over my shoulder as I ride the escalator. Once I’m on the ground floor she bustles in front of me and holds out both hands like she’s ready to physically stop me from going further. 

“I just wanted to say…” she pants for a few seconds, trying to catch her breath. 

“You can’t just stop being his friend!” She says. 

I roll my eyes and make to go around her, but she steps in front of me.

“I mean it, Frisk. You’re incredibly important to him.” 

I look into her face, and I’m almost startled at how serious she is. 

“I’ve been working with Sans for years and I still don’t know him hardly at all. He’s a very closed off, private person. When you came along we--all of his friends--were amazed at how close you two were right off the bat. Nobody has ever been that close to him. And now, without you, he’s not...he’s not doing too well.” She looks desperately sad. 

“...that’s not...I don’t...you aren’t listening to me. He doesn’t want to see me.” I ramble, looking away from her. 

“He’s afraid.” She says quietly, like she doesn’t want to be overheard. It’s suddenly very jarring just how silent it is in this house. Chills creep up my spine and I look around nervously. 

“What do you mean?” I ask. 

“I’ve known Sans for a very long time. I was there when…” her voice is so uncharacteristically soft that I’m holding my breath just to hear every word. 

“Well, that’s not for me to tell. But...something awful happened and...Sans...he’s got some baggage.” 

I notice that my hands are gripping the bottom of my jacket. My heart sounds far too loud. 

“He’s not using magic anymore. He’s closed himself off to everyone. I assume he thinks that avoiding everything will...prevent certain things from getting worse, but it’s doing the opposite. He’s wasting away.” She grabs my hand. My eyes widen. This is a sign of just how concerned she is. She isn’t at all a touchy feely person, she’s more of a porcupine. 

“He needs you, Frisk. And you need him. I know you’ve been shut up in your room for three weeks straight. You can’t live your life like that. Besides, staying inside all day--that’s sorta MY thing, eheheh.” She smiles bashfully at me and lets go of my hand. 

“Alright, Alphys...I’ll do my best?” I give her. I don’t know what else to say. 

“And don’t worry about the DT project, we scrapped it. We’ll...I’ll find another way, I’m sure of it!” She sounds less than confident, but gives me a brave smile. 

“Scrapped it? Why?” I ask, feeling strangely let down for some reason. 

“Sans made the call. He probably thinks it was too risky. I suppose he’s right…” she doesn’t seem so sure of what she’s saying. 

“I don’t get why he banned you from the lab though…” she says, obviously thinking out loud. Her eyes dart to mine, and she freezes. 

“He--what? He _banned_ me?” I scoff, my voice a bit louder than I meant it to be. 

“Erm, anyways, thanks for coming over, it was nice to see you!!!” She runs around me and starts pushing me toward the door. 

“Alphys, what do you mean he banned me??” I try to lean all of my weight against her to stop my heals skidding across the smooth floor. She’s stronger than me and has quite a bit of weight on me, so eventually she manages to push me out of her front door. 

“OK BYE!!!” She shrieks. She slams the door in my face. I stand there in shock for a few moments. 

The door opens up just a crack.

“By the way, Undyne and I are having a party here tomorrow night, starts at eight. Be there or be square.” 

The door snaps shut again. 

\---

I broke up with her. Me and my dumb ass broke up with her. Yea, yea, I told myself it was the right decision because I’m a danger to her. But really, I’m just a coward. I haven’t even left my room since the night she came to see me. I’m too afraid to go out, because I might see her. She gets under my skin (err, bones?) like nobody else can. And if I lose control again...I don’t know if I’ll come back. 

See, I’m not a hero. I’m not doing this to protect her. I’m doing this to save myself. If he pulls me back into the void, I’m lost. For good this time. I refuse to use magic--any of it--just to be safe. And I sure as hell will never teleport again. 

I’m laying on my back on my bed. The flashlight is taped to the side of my desk. It’s on. It’s always on, now. I stare at the circle of light it projects on my ceiling. Loud music pumps out of the speakers I wired to the old boombox. This CD is my go to moping session, comfort mix. I probably shouldn’t be playing human music this loudly when my door isn’t sealed, but fuck it. I’m tired of keeping track of what people are and aren’t supposed to know about me.

I push the large ball of sheets and blankets off of my bed and sprawl out as much as I physically can. I groan. Everything still aches, especially my right arm and my left eye. I reach up and touch the scar. I shiver, appreciating once again just how close a call it was this time. I think about how brilliant Alphys is and guilt washes over me in waves. She’s done a lot for me, and all I’ve been is horrible to her.

I haven’t gone back to the Lab. I won’t, if I can help it. Alphys promised to scrap the DT project, but she still doesn’t know that it wouldn’t have worked in the first place. I should have told her, but again, I’m a coward. 

And even though I see now that I was basically plotting to steal Frisk’s soul since the first timeline, and not being close to her is probably the right course of action, I still wonder if it's worth being this miserable. 

“Christ, I miss that girl.” I sigh. The sound of my voice is drowned out by the song blasting over the speakers. Odd, listening to Sabotage usually makes me feel better. But I guess this pain is too much even for the Beastie Boys. 

There’s a loud knock on my door. I groan and roll over lazily to mash the stop button on the boombox. 

“What do you want, Papyrus?” I call out boredly. 

“I made you something to eat!” He announces, sounding annoyed. 

“Is it spaghetti?” I ask in a monotone voice. 

“YES it’s spaghetti.” He snaps at me, opening my door. He struts in confidently and clunks a giant plate of “spaghetti” on my bed next to my head. It’s honestly just mushy noodles covered in ketchup.

“Thanks pap.” I say, not moving from the spot I’ve been laying in for actual days. 

“You need to get out of the house.” He states, looking down at me with those judgmental sockets. 

“Oh yea? And why’s that?” I raise an eyebrow at him. 

“You’ve been in here for weeks!!! I’m worried about you! You need to go out there and find the human and apologize--” 

“I TOLD you, Pap, that’s not gonna happen.” I cut him off. I don’t like using a harsh tone with him, but he will NOT stop harping on me about that. 

“Sans you are being so stupid!!!” He stomps his feet and glares down at me. 

“You need the human! And she needs you! I just can’t stand the thought of her out there all alone, without her skeleton friends.” He looks like he’s about to cry. 

I sigh, frustrated. 

“She’s not _alone,_ Pap, she’s got other friends.” The statement is true, but it doesn’t make me feel any better. 

“Yes. I suppose you’re right. I did hear today that she was seen walking through Hotland with Prince Asriel…” he says, narrowing his eyes at me pointedly. I try not to let my face give away how irritated I’ve suddenly become. 

I forgot about that mother fucker. 

“She can walk with whoever she wants.” I say, like I don’t give a damn, and roll over so that I don’t have to look at him anymore. 

“Fine! Let her be swept off her feet by a charming prince! It is not up to the great Papyrus what you do tonight, but you have to go out. I need the house.” He suddenly sounds kinda sheepish. 

I roll back over like a ragdoll to look up at him. He’s sweating. He’s up to something.

“Whatchu need the house for, bud?” I probe. 

“I am having a guest over.” He blushes. 

I sit up. “Who you havin’ over, pal?” I’m giving him my best “you better tell me the goddamn truth right now or else” face. 

“Not that it’s any of your business,” he glares at me, but continues even so, “But, Mettaton is coming over tonight, and I can’t have you glooming up the place.”

He’s avoiding my gaze because he KNOWS I don’t like that robot. I don’t have anything against him, personally, but every time he sees me it’s like I got a sign on the back of my skull that says flirt with me. And that robot is real handsy when Alphys ain’t lookin’. Just one more thing I don’t miss about the Lab.

I’m looking up into my skeleton brother’s face, trying to figure out how to explain to him that Mettaton is most likely using him to get close to me. This poor skeleton has been head over heals for that robot since the first timeline. I just can’t break it to the guy. 

The doorbell rings and Papyrus jumps about a mile. 

“OH MY GOD THAT’S HIM!” He puts his hands on his head and looks down at me like he doesn’t know what to do next. Poor guy. 

“Well, I guess you’d better answer the door, huh?” I encourage him. He rattles his bones like he’s preparing for battle, and then marches from my room with his chest out. 

I shake my head and follow him, remembering to lock the door to my room behind me. I haven’t had to use this key for ages. I hid it after Frisk used it to find my secret workroom under the house. That nosy, entitled, no respect for other people’s privacy little brat. 

I shrug my shoulders and try to push her from my mind. 

“Papyrus!! So good to see you, darling!” Mettaton gushes, hugging my skeleton brother in the doorway. I roll my eyes. 

“I am honored to have you as a guest in my house. I have prepared a banquet of the finest spaghetti for us to enjoy.” Papyrus bows to the robot like he’s royalty. 

“Oh that’s very sweet of you, but I don’t actually eat, so...SANS!!!” Mettaton pushes past Papyrus and rushes over to me. I try not to visibly lean away from him and keep a smile plastered on my face. 

“I heard you and that human broke up! I was so worried about you I just had to come over.” He leans down and places a hand on my shoulder. 

“Uhuh,” is all I say. The robot looks annoyed at my lack of gratitude. 

“Is there anything you need? Anything at all that I can do for you???” He asks in a hushed voice. He leans his face in closer to mine, and I shift my weight to my heals to get as far away from him as I can without actually moving. I catch sight of Papyrus watching us. Sweet, innocent Papyrus. 

“Nope, I’m good.” I say, pushing his hand off my shoulder. He purses his lips and puts his hands on his hips. I step to the left and loop around him.

“WELL, I’ll leave you two to it. Try not to have too much fun without me.” I say, grabbing my new coat from the hanger and opening the front door. 

“WAIT! You’re leaving?!??” Mettaton snaps. He looks panicked for some reason.

“Yea, important business I gotta see to. Real classified stuff.” I wink and shut the door behind me. 

“Come! I have so many activities planned for our date, I hope you like puzzles!” I hear Papyrus say from inside. 

“Hehhehhehhehheh.” I chuckle out loud. Let the robot reap what he’s sown. 

It’s weird, being outside after so long. I squint my eyes to let them adjust to the light. I chose to live in Snowdin because the “days” are brighter here and the light reflects off the snow. Makes seeing stuff in my room easier, since I don’t use electricity. Plus, all the snow reminds me of home. 

The new jacket Papyrus bought for me feels strange on my body. I’ve been wearing that same blue one for...longer than anyone should ever wear an article of clothing. My pink slippers barely even belong in the category of footwear anymore. 

I’m aware that monsters of all ages are staring at me as I walk through town. They aren’t used to seeing me walk around, unless I’m with her. I grit my teeth. She’s walking with that prick now. It’s pretty unfair of me to be upset, since I was the dumbass who told her to get lost, but did she really have to pick THAT GUY?

I could really go for some ketchup right about now. Papyrus used up my whole stock for his spaghetti and I really don't feel up to going to Grillbys, so I gotta go searching. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you all for your comments and kudos ^_^ makes me feel all warm and cozy inside.


	18. KETCHING UP

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The title really says it all.

I stand outside of Alphys’ house for a couple of minutes trying to decide what I want to do next. Now that I’m actually outside, I don’t want to go back to my dank room in the castle. I guess I could go see Undyne. I groan inwardly at the thought, because talking to her takes a lot of energy. But I think maybe I need someone yelling at me to get me out of this funk.

I need some time to prepare myself for Undyne’s particular brand of hospitality, so I take the long way to Waterfall. I carefully make my way over the wooden bridge that leads out of Hotland, which takes me a while. There aren’t any railings on this rickety old thing, and if I fall it’s a long way down. It’s thrilling though, and I always feel super charged when I make it across.

To my right is an old sentry station. I smile ruefully at it, remembering how Sans pretended to be asleep when I was being chased by Undyne. At the time I thought he was just an asshole for not helping me. Now I’m pretty sure he knew Undyne would stop and chew him out for falling asleep at his post, giving me enough time to escape. OR he could just be an asshole. It’s really up for grabs.

Just as I’m about to pass by, I hear someone swear loudly from inside the sentry station. I stop in my tracks and listen closely. There’s the sound of things being rifled through under the counter, and then someone exclaims,

“YES! I knew I left one in here.”

I know that voice.

Sans pops up from behind the counter. He dusts himself off and stores what I think looks like a ketchup bottle inside his coat. He freezes and slowly looks over at me.

We stare each other down for a few awkward moments. The Core hums ominously in the distance. I break first.

“Hi.” I smile shyly, giving him a little wave. I’m relieved to see him smile back at me. Not a fake, for show, keeping up appearances smile. A real, small, actual smile. It comes rushing back like a tsunami just how much I love this fucking skeleton. Even if he is an asshole.

“Heya,” he says. “Whatchu doin’ over here?” He quirks his head at me. I see his eyes shift toward the old wooden bridge and his brow creases just a bit. He never liked me crossing that thing.

“Was just visiting Alphys.” I jerk my thumb over my shoulder in the general direction of her house. I remember what Alphys was just telling me, and I'm suddenly paranoid that he’ll read it on my face.

“Oh.” He suddenly looks uncomfortable and puts his hands in his coat pockets.

“Nice coat.” I’m not just making small talk--I’m actually really interested in this new piece of clothing. Because he’s worn the same, maybe three, outfits for the entirety of our time together. I’ve only ever seen him wear that one, faded blue hoodie. This one is more of a bulky, winter jacket, is obviously brand new, and it’s a bright, super intense teal. And he looks fucking good in it.

I mean, he still looks pretty awful--like, kind of gaunt. As though he just got over a really bad flu. But he looks a lot better than the last time I saw him.

\---

I look down at myself and shrug.

“Yea, Pap figured it was time I updated my wardrobe.” My heart is pounding in my ribcage. She seems happy to see me. I wasn't expecting that. I'm looking at her standing there, and it’s like seeing sunlight again. I can’t go back to the darkness, I really can’t.

She shouldn't use that bridge. It's dangerous. I don't got any say in what she does or where she goes, but I wish she'd use the boat person.

My insides squirm when she says she's been at Alphys’. I know Alphys said she wanted to apologize to her, but if I know that dinosaur at all, I’ll bet she said more than she should have.

She stands on her toes and chews on her lip. I know that look. She’s thinking about something real hard. She suddenly makes a decision and walks closer to stand against the sentry station. She rests her arms on the counter and tries to look calm, but I can see how much guts that move took.

God dammit, the girl’s adorable. Maybe it’s because I’ve had some time to calm the fuck down, but right now, even with her this close, I don’t feel like high tailing it outta here. Feeling pretty in control actually. Still, it’s probably good there’s a counter between us.

\---

He let me come this close. Sure, there’s a counter between us, but he doesn’t look terrified of me so I’ll take it!

“How’re you doing?” I ask boldly.

“I’m uh...I’m alright.” The lights in his eyes dart around, and he shuffles his feet. He still sounds raspy, like he’s about to lose his voice.

I chew on my lip and try to screw up the courage to ask him something more specific. He seems to know what I'm thinking and does what he always does--flips the topic of conversation onto me.

“How you holding up, kid?” He calls me that pet name and it’s like a confetti cannon goes off in my head.

_I’m miserable and lonely and I miss you and I’m going to be in love with you forever and everything is horrible and I’ll never be ok again._

“I’m ok.” I say. He doesn’t look super convinced.

“What are YOU doing here??” I take a page out of his rulebook and change the subject.

“Raiding supplies.” He pulls what is indeed a bottle of ketchup from inside his jacket and winks.

“Gross, how old is that??” I grimace. The bottle is dusty and the red paint is chipping away.

He chuckles and returns the bottle to it’s rightful pocket.

“Don’t matter. Still ketchup.” He shrugs.

\---

She giggles at me. Gods, I missed that sound.

“SO, I heard you and Asriel are an item.” I tease her. I’m trying to heckle her, because I’m a little shit, but I’m pretty sure she can tell that I’m not cool with the thought of her and that prick doing ANYTHING together.

She lets out a sigh of frustration.

“You shouldn’t believe everything you hear.” She glares at me, but there’s a smile playing at her lips. I suddenly feel better than I have in weeks.

\---

His face lights up and his shoulders relax. He’s got this stupid grin on his face, like he’s relieved. All the while he’s totally trying to play it cool, like he doesn’t care either way.

God, I remember the days when I thought he was just a smiley, laid back skeleton who never let anything bother him. Now he’s got a whole range of expressions and moods. I wouldn’t be able to pick them out had I not spent almost a thousand timelines with him.

I know he’s got some kind of terrible secret that’s eating him up inside and something about me makes it worse. And maybe we can’t be together the way I want, but this skeleton is everything to me. He’s the best part of my life, and I can’t let him get away again. It’s incredibly selfish of me, but I’m going to make him be my friend even if it kills him.

“I miss you.” I say, looking straight into his eyes. The lights in his sockets flash brighter for a second, and then he smiles sadly.

“Same here, kiddo.” He says. He looks like he wants to say something else but decides against it. I remember what Alphys told me. I take a deep breath and say what I need to say.

“You’re...my best friend. We’ve spent, like, years together--collectively. We went through some serious shit, and there’s nobody else in the whole world we can talk to about it all. So, we don’t have to be, like, together...but we should at least be friends, you know?” I stop rambling and clamp my mouth shut. My heart is pounding and my face is burning and I kind of can’t feel my legs.

He swallows. He lets out a sigh and his shoulders slump.

“Yea, kid, I know. My life is fucking miserable without you, too.” He smiles apologetically and scratches the back of his skull. He’s not great at expressing his emotions. I smirk graciously back at him.

“But, I gotta...be careful. Cuz it could happen again. I’m not...the same as I was.” He visibly struggles to get this limited information out, and I know that’s as specific as he can be with me right now. I’m just amazed he said that much, so I won’t push him.

I nod and try not to look as concerned as I am. He smiles, like we’re all good. He steps closer to his side of the counter. I’m so happy and sad I could laugh and cry, but I won’t. I do that too much already.

“How’s Papyrus doing?” I miss him too.

Sans chuckles and suddenly looks sly.

“He’s on a date right now.” He grins.

“Whaaaat?” I feign surprise. “Impossible, who would dare steal the heart of my knight in shining armor?”

“Mettaton.” He grimaces. Now I’m actually surprised.

“You’re kidding.” I search his face for any hint that he’s messing with me.

“Nah, man, it’s totally true.” His grin widens.

“Really???” Now I'm actually starting to get concerned for Papyrus, in a sisterly way.

“Well, Pap THINKS it’s a date.” His eyes narrow, like he’s worried about his skeleton brother too. I relax, remembering my own “date” with Papyrus. I forgot, he’s _Papyrus._

“I don’t think I even knew they were friends…” I’m trying to picture the tall, naive skeleton and the super sexy, flamboyant robot as a couple and it’s just not fitting together.

“They aren’t. But the poor guy’s been crushing on that heap of metal for ages.” He shrugs. I feel like there’s something he’s not telling me. Wait, who am I kidding? There’s always something he’s not telling me.

“Well, I hope Mettaton likes puzzles.” I say, semi seriously. Sans eye sockets widen and he lets out a loud laugh, but then clamps his mouth shut like I caught him off guard. He blushes and his cheekbones turn blue. I love making him actually laugh--like _actually_ laugh, and I always seem to do it accidentally. I feel like my blood has been infused with carbon dioxide and a zillion tiny bubbles are rushing through my veins.

\---

She looks pretty damned pleased with herself for making me laugh. I don’t like my real laugh, it’s stupid, but I sure do like the way she’s looking at me. I gotta keep this conversation going.

“How’s life at the castle?” Shit. She’s gonna think I’m worried about that goat prick again. Well, I am, but that's besides the point.

“Boring.” She sighs and lays her head on the counter. I wanna run my fingers through her hair so bad.

_Hey, you keep it together, buddy._

“You know...the house ain’t the same without ya.” Shit. What am I saying??

She looks up at me, and there’s so much hope in those big brown eyes.

“And...Papyrus misses you. So if you ever feel like stoppin’ by...” I add. Fuck.

_This was not the plan, dude!_

“Really? Are you sure?” I can see she’s trying to reel her hopes back in from the sky.

“Yea. I’m sure.” I grin. Fuck it. I love this girl, and I can’t stand my life without her. I’m gonna figure out a way to make this work.

\---

He gives me a smile that makes me blush. He reaches out to mess up my hair, like he used to, but then freezes. I see a wisp of blue flame in his left socket. He claps his hand over his eye and cringes in pain. He steps back.

“Sans??” I stand up straight and my heart beat skips.

He looks panicked for just a moment and then his entire body relaxes. His hand drops from his eye and the blue is back to white.

“Sorry, still aches every now and then.” He blows off the incident like it was nothing, but I can tell that whatever just happened shook him up. And...why does he look so disappointed? I decide I’ve put him through enough today.

“Well, I gotta go see Undyne. But um...are you going to the party tomorrow night?” I ask hopefully. He looks like he wishes I hadn’t asked.

“Eh, I dunno. Parties aren’t really my thing…” He looks down at the counter and scrapes something off the surface with one of his bright white bone fingers. I know him well enough to take that as a no.

“Yea, I figured.” I say. I can’t keep the disappointment from my voice. He shifts his weight to the other foot, and I think I just saw a flicker of annoyance on his face. Shit.

“I mean, I don’t know if I’m going either! I just, I thought, I um…”

“Hey, kid, relax.” He smirks at me. I fidget with my jacket and try to look as chill as he does.

“Maybe I’ll see you there.” I’m almost certain he’s just saying that to make me feel better, but it’s the thought that counts. I smile. He winks at me.

“Later, alligator.” I say as I walk away.

“You oughtta stop using that bridge, kid.” He calls after me.

I turn back and stick my tongue out at him. He chuckles and shakes his head at me.

I just remembered I sort of have a date with his least favorite person tomorrow night.

Oops.

\---

I sit under the counter of the sentry station after she leaves and drink my ketchup in silence. It is pretty old, but I don’t mind the chunks. Plus, the older it is, the stronger it is. And I need something strong.

Seeing her has messed up my head. I was all set on not being around her, and now I’ve gone and brought her back into my life. Heh, as if I could possibly go back to living without her. Jesus, what am I supposed to do? I couldn’t even touch her without my eye acting up. There’s no way I can spend the rest of my life just out of her reach. That’s dumb.

_You could just tell her the truth._

“PFFFT, yea right.” I say out loud. Hey, Frisk, just so you know, there’s a demon living inside of me who is actively trying to take over my soul AND steal yours. Sure, that’ll go over well.

And what did she MEAN she figured I wouldn’t go to the party? I throw the empty ketchup bottle over the edge of the platform. I hear a faint crashing noise as it hits the bottom.

_She figured._

“Tch.” I’m irritated as hell. Parties really AREN’T my thing, but I still GO. I can be fun. I’m a fun guy. There’s a pun in there somewhere. Something about mushrooms. Eh, I’ll figure it out later.

I got plenty of reasons for not going. It’s at Alphys house, and that’s closer to the lab than I’d like to be. Also, I haven’t seen anybody in weeks. They’re gonna ask me a shit ton of questions that I don’t got answers for.

Bet she thinks I’m not gonna go. Bet that Asriel prick is going.

\---

(In an old timeline, after an ending)

She stood in the darkness. Was it dark, or was it nothing?

“Where am I?” She asked, but her voice made no noise.

“Everywhere. And nowhere,” He said. His words were not sounds.

Her skin began to crawl. She couldn’t see him, but she knew he was watching. No matter where she went, he always followed.

Two choices appeared before her.

**CONTINUE**                        **RESET**

“It’s time,” He said.

She began to remember.

“No! Everyone is happy!”

“We didn’t accomplish our goal. You have to go back,” He commanded.

“I won’t! I won’t go back! Please don’t make me go back!!” She pleaded frantically.

He laughed happily as her hand reached up to make the choice.

“I’m so sorry…” she whispered before she erased everything once again.


	19. DATING START!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is not the date you're looking for...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mettaton is a real bitch.

I stand in front of my mirror and chew at my lip. Undyne helped me pick out this outfit for the party she thinks I’m attending, and I’m not sure it’s really my style. It’s too...edgy? I don’t know. Black leggings, a tight fighting navy blue, low cut dress. Dark purple boots. It’s very Undyne and not very Frisk. But it’s almost seven o’clock, and I don’t have anything else appropriate to wear. 

When I came back to the Underground, I didn’t bring anything with me, so my closet is made up of odds and ends that my monster friends donated. I’m pretty small, and everything they gave me is too big. So basically whenever I go out I look like a homeless person. Of course, I could have bought a few things from The Shop in Snowdin, but I don’t have any money, and I refuse to ask Toriel. Undyne told me she was buying this for me and if I didn’t shut the hell up about it she would punch me in the face. 

I’m panicking a little about the party. Undyne didn’t even ask if I was going, she just assumed. All night I kept trying to think of a way to go out with Asriel AND show up at the party, but I don’t think it’s going to happen. What if Sans actually shows up and I’m not there?

There’s a knock on my door. Oh well, whatever happens, happens. 

I grab the doorknob and breath in and out for a few seconds. I’m so nervous I could give Alphys a run for her money. I know this isn’t really an official date or anything, but I haven’t hung out with Asriel before. Not really. Which is weird, because we live in the same castle. 

I open the door and there stands The Prince of the Underground. He’s wearing a button down purple and black plaid shirt with a white undershirt, a fitted black jacket, dark grey jeans and bright neon green shoes. On anybody else this ensemble would look casual, but he somehow manages to look classy. He’s holding a bouquet of white flowers. He looks me up and down and whistles. 

“Dang, Frisk, you look gooooood.” I punch him in the arm and he laughs. He bows and presents me with the bouquet.

“Madame.” He drawls. 

I take it and hurriedly bury my face in the flowers. I’m blushing so hard I can’t handle it. This is a date. This is an actual date. Shit. 

“So, change of plans if you’re up for it,” he says, holding out his arm for me to take. I loop my arm into the hook of his elbow and try not to look as frantic as I feel. 

“As I’m sure you know, Alphys and Undyne are having a party. I got the invite yesterday. Do you think maybe we should go to that instead?” he sounds apologetic. I’m simultaneously relieved and panicked. I guess I just assumed they would only invite our group, which doesn’t usually involve him. I’m struck with the thought that Alphys may have had ulterior motives for getting him involved. 

“We should go. Undyne helped me pick out these clothes and if I don’t show at her party she’s going to flip.” 

He laughs knowingly. “We should most definitely avoid pissing her off.” 

I giggle nervously and we set off down the spiral staircase. 

“Since it doesn’t start until eight o’clock, maybe we should get something to eat in the meantime?” He suggests. 

I was afraid of that. I’m no good at dates, especially the traditional sit down at a restaurant and talk for hours kind of date. Even with Sans I was awkward at first. But something about him made me feel like nothing was expected of me. He put me at ease. Plus, we always went to Grillby’s and sat at the bar and just chilled out. Except for that one time in the MTT hotel restaurant. I don’t want to think about that. 

I try to imagine myself sitting in Grillby’s with Asriel. It just doesn’t feel right. 

“Why don’t we go get some Cinnabunnies at the Shop?” I feel better just thinking about it. 

“That sounds fucking fantastic.” He agrees. I laugh and hold onto his arm tighter. I look up at him and think, he’s not that scary. I walked all the way through Hotland with him just yesterday and it wasn’t awkward at all. I don’t know what I was so nervous about.

“OH MY GOODNESS!!!!!” 

We both stop in our tracks. Toriel is standing before us just outside the throne room. Her hands are over her mouth and she’s staring at us with shining eyes. 

“You two look SO CUTE! Oh my GOD! Gorey, come look at Frisk and Asy!!” 

Asriel and I look at each other with wide eyes. I can see we both agree this is fucking weird. I didn’t even think about what my mom would--

Oh shit. OH SHIT. She’s OUR mom! Oh, this just got disturbing AND hilarious. 

Asgore peeks around the corner of the doorway, and his face breaks into a huge, goofy grin. 

“So it’s true then? You two are really dating? How nice.” He looks so excited. 

“Umm…” I mumble. I’m not sure how to handle this situation. Asriel doesn’t seem to have anything to say either. He’s just sort of frozen next to me with a harassed look on his face. 

“He even got her flowers!!” Toriel is positively gushing. I’m trying so hard not to laugh. 

“Mom, please,” Asriel finally unfreezes, but his demeanor is not as collected and smooth as it usually is. He’s blushing just as fiercely as I am.

“We aren’t dating. I mean, not yet. I MEAN--we’re just going to Alphys’ and Undyne’s party together!” He is so flustered and it’s kind of super cute. 

Toriel makes some kind of high pitched squeal of joy and Asgore claps happily for us. 

“We’re leaving!” Asriel announces abruptly and practically pulls me out of the room. 

“OK you two, have fun!!!” Toriel calls after us. 

“And be responsible!!” Asgore adds loudly. 

Asriel groans and I burst out laughing. 

“That might be the strangest thing that’s ever happened to me!” I gasp between fits of giggles. 

“Same here.” He still looks embarrassed to death, but he can’t help smiling. It never occurred to me until just now to wonder how he feels about me being sort of adopted by his parents.

“Is it weird for you? Me showing up and taking over your parents, I mean.” I ask. He doesn’t answer for a moment. 

“Maybe at first. But that’s just kind of how my mom is. She’s sort of everyone’s mom down here…” he looks uncomfortable, but he can’t hide how proud he is of his mom. 

“She’s amazing.” I say softly, feeling a warm glow inside my heart. 

“Dad’s pretty great too.” I add, poking him in his side. 

“How about we never talk about this again??” He grimaces and shakes his head. I decide not to tease him any further about the incest-y nature of our outing. 

“What was that place in Waterfall you were going to take me to?” I ask to change the subject. He looks relieved and brightens considerably. 

“It’s this new night club. Napstablook and Burgerpants got the idea to open one after the party in the Entrance Hall was such a hit. Nap is the DJ and Burgerpants is one of the bartenders. It’s supposed to be really cool.” 

Dang. That does sound cool. Also, I’m glad I’m not the only one who doesn’t know Burgerpants’ actual name. 

“We could always go some other day,” I say. Why did I say that? WHY??

“We absolutely should.” He grins down at me slyly. Shit. I think I just asked him out on a second date. 

“Let’s use the portal,” he says, stopping us a little ways from the castle. 

“Ok, cool.” I’m glad we at least don’t have to be stared at by every monster in Hotland. 

He lights the portal with his fire magic, and I let out a little gasp. The portal is blazing with rainbow colored flames. It has the same effect as the Northern Lights. Asriel catches me gaping in awe at the portal and gets a super smug expression on his face. He doesn’t say anything, though, just puts his hands on my shoulders and half pushes, half guides me through the portal. 

We stand outside of the Shop and munch on Cinnabunnies. We shoot the breeze about random shit for a while, and then walk around town. He takes me into the library and points out all of his favorite books. I show him the giant wolf man who throws ice chunks into the river, and we pretend like we aren’t watching him. Asriel had no idea he existed.

“But...why?” He whispers, watching the wolfman hurl huge chunks of ice into the rushing water. I shrug silently up at him and smile serenely at the strange scene. 

After that we decide to hail the boat person and head for Waterfall. 

\---

“Are you quite sure these pants match my cape?” Papyrus asks. 

“You look great, pal.” I tell him distractedly. I’ve got my own shit to worry about. This new gettup I’m in has me all out of sorts. I wanted to just wear my usual t-shirt and sweatpants combo, but Papyrus threw a fit and made me find something presentable in my closet. I have a bunch of stuff I never wear just hanging in there getting dusty. So I shook out this shit and put it on. I feel terrible. 

I shouldn’t have come. I can still bail if I want to, we haven’t reached Alphys’ house yet. 

“I’m so nervous! Do you think Mettaton will be there???” Papyrus asks for the hundredth time. I try my best not to groan out loud. I do roll my eyes though, because he can’t see that. 

“I dunno, buddy.” I put my hands in my jacket pockets. Still doesn’t feel right. I miss my old hoodie. I hate parties. This was a bad idea.

Shit, we’re here. 

Alphys’ door opens before Papyrus knocks, and we are both pulled into the house by Undyne. 

“Fucking FINALLY, get the hell in here!” She hisses. 

“H-hey guys!” Alphys greets us. I can’t help but notice she doesn’t seem to want to look me in the eye. I was right, then, she probably went and blabbed some shit that wasn’t her business to blab. I look around and see that there are several monsters already here. It’s not just our usual group, either. I don’t see Frisk. 

“Wow! Alphys, it looks so cool in here!” Papyrus says, sounding awestruck. 

“Eheh, yeah, it took a while…” Alphys laughs nervously. 

I think she’s mostly referring to the fact that this place is actually _clean._ Because the only decorations I see are some streamers hanging from the ceiling and some balloons taped to the walls. Undyne shoves some drinks into our hands and inspects us head to toe. 

“Nice, Pap! You look awesome. And...you clean up nice, Tiny.” She looks down at me appraisingly. I can’t tell if she’s messing with me or not. 

“Hey, thanks, baby.” I wink at her. She turns her nose up at me and crosses her arms. 

“God, this party really isn’t picking up.” She complains. I gotta say she’s right. There’s definitely an aura of lame in here. I can’t help but think it might be because of the music. All Alphys has are soundtracks to different anime. I don’t hate it, and it was sorta nice to hear down in that cold, lonely lab. But it ain’t party music. 

Suddenly, behind us, the door opens and I hear a loud, familiar laugh. Before I even turn around I’m grinding my teeth and magic is snaking up my spine.

\---

We walk up to Alphys’ house and stand outside for a second before going in. 

“I feel like we were just here.” Asriel teases. 

“She was watching us, you know.” I giggle. 

“What do you mean?” He asks, smirking. 

“She has cameras hidden everywhere. She says she watches me the most because my life has the most drama right now.” I roll my eyes and push the door open. Asriel laughs loudly as we enter the house. 

I don’t know what I expected to walk into. A party, I suppose. This is not a party. This is a bunch of monsters standing around, looking bored. Except for Sans, who is standing right in front of us. He’s not bored. He’s pissed, but he’s trying to look chill. Papyrus immediately exclaims how happy he is to see me, as usual, and scoops me up into a rib crunching hug. I pat his back. 

“Hey Papyrus. Nice outfit.” I say once he puts me down. He’s wearing his red cape, a navy blue sweater and bright pink board shorts. He smiles proudly down at me. I turn my attention to Sans, who hasn’t taken his eyes off me this entire time. 

“Heya.” he greets me. His eyes dart up at Asriel, but he doesn’t acknowledge him. 

He’s wearing actual clothes. I mean, like, not sweat pants and a t-shirt. He’s wearing that new teal jacket, a button down, light blue shirt with a back tie and dark blue jeans. And black shoes. ACTUAL FUCKING SHOES. Well, they’re sneakers, but still. He looks totally out of his element and uncomfortable as fuck but DAMN. Why does he have to be so sexy when I’m on a date with somebody else? 

“You’re here!” I state happily. I see a sly grin creep across his skull. 

\---

She stands there staring at me like she’s never seen me before. Alright, maybe Undyne wasn’t pulling my leg after all. 

And holy shit, Jesus Christmas Christ, that little dress is making me think all sorts of less than gentlemanly thoughts. I suspect Undyne played a hand in this, and I gotta give it to her, she done good. She done real good. 

Which makes it all the more enraging that she just walked in here with the little goat prince. 

“Yea, I’m here.” I grin at her. 

The Prick is looking down at her, his brow furrowed. He looks real confused about something. 

“Nice dress.” I wink. She blushes so hard she might as well be painted red. Goat Prince makes a strangled noise, but when I glance up at him he apparently has nothing to say. He glares down at me, and I can tell he’s trying not to snarl. I smile and I can feel my fangs poking into my lip. 

Heh. This should be fun. 

“SANS!!!” Mettaton shouts gleefully from across the room. I let my head fall back, and I glare at the ceiling. Ok, maybe not so fun. 

\---

I’m trying not to look as ecstatic as I am about Sans comment on my dress. All he said was “nice dress” but his eyes said a whole lot more. I can feel my heartbeat all over my entire body, and I could probably float away into the sky. Asriel makes a strange sound that snaps me out of my moment. I look up at him and he’s looking at Sans like he’s about two seconds away from strangling him. I take his arm and pull him away from the skeleton, taking us further into the house. 

“SANS!!!” Mettaton pushes past us in his haste to reach the skeleton across the room. I crink my neck around to see the robot throw his arms around Sans. Papyrus watches the pair with a look of despair and longing. My nostrils flare and something green starts simmering in my chest. 

“You made it! Awesome, maybe you guys can help me get this party going. Alphys is getting kind of bummed out.” Undyne whispers to us. I look around and see Alphys staring into space in the middle of the room. 

“What music is this???” I ask Undyne, making sure to keep my voice down. There’s a sickly sweet pop song playing and the singer is definitely speaking Japanese. 

“One of her cartoons, of course. Oh man, this is a disaster.” Undyne hangs her head and walks away. She steps onto one of the escalators and disappears upstairs. Maybe she’s going to try and find some appropriate tunes. 

“Hey, do you want something to drink?” Asriel asks. I look up at him and notice that he doesn’t seem as happy as he did before we got here. Guilt creeps up my spine. I came here with him, didn’t I? I shouldn’t be worried about what Sans is doing. I’m not with Sans. I’m never going to be with Sans. 

“Sure, what do they got?” I say, grabbing his hand on impulse. He looks down, surprised, and that contagious smile is back on his face in an instant. His hand is warm and soft and much, much bigger than mine. 

\---

Mettaton keeps talking at me, and I say, “uhuh,” and “cool” at what seem like appropriate times, but I am NOT listening. I’m watching Frisk and that fucktard like a hawk. 

“And then he just up and quit! He says he’d rather work at that stupid nightclub than MY fast food restaurant, can you even believe that? The NERVE of him, I made him what he is today.” Mettaton pouts, laying the back of hand on his forehead. 

I see Frisk grab the goat’s hand. SHE grabs HIS hand. My hands curl into fists and the plastic cup I’m holding crumples loudly. Whatever was in it spills over onto the floor. Nobody notices. I set the destroyed cup on Alphys’ work desk and pretend like that didn’t just happen.

“Oh that’s terrible! But you’re still friends, aren’t you?” Papyrus asks, actually concerned. 

“I don’t have friends, darling, I have fans. Sans? Sans!” Mettaton snaps his metal fingers in front of my face. I look up at him slowly. Something sinister climbs up my back and sits on my shoulders. I don’t feel like shrugging it off tonight. I smile tightly at the robot and his expression flickers from annoyed to alarmed for just a split second. 

“Excuse me, darling, but I must see to my other fans.” He blows me a kiss and saunters away. Papyrus watches him go like a sad puppy. I pretend to catch the kiss in the air with my hand. 

“Here, Pap, I think this was meant for you.” I say, holding my hand up to him. He claps his hands over his mouth. 

“Really??? Do you think so??” He asks, his voice muffled by his gloves. I nod and motion for him to hold out his hand. He opens his hand, and I pretend to drop something into it. He closes his hand and holds it to his chest like he’s the happiest skeleton in the world. 

I grit my teeth and promise to make life harder for the robot from now on, whenever possible. 

\---

I point to a can of grape soda on the drink table and Asriel picks it up. 

“Your beverage, lady Frisk.” He presents the can to me like he’s handing me something really fancy. 

“Oh my god, you shouldn’t have.” I say, pretending to be impressed. He snickers and I giggle. I lean closer to him. His eyes are half lidded and that smile is dangerous. 

“HEY ASRIEL, COME UP HERE FOR A SECOND!!!” Undyne yells from upstairs. Asriel looks down at me, confused. I shrug. 

“I’ll be right back, I hope.” He sticks his tongue out at me and heads upstairs. I’m left alone by the drink table. 

“You know, you really shouldn’t be here.” 

I turn around, startled, to find Mettaton standing right behind me. It takes me a few seconds to register what he just said. 

“What?” 

He rolls his eyes and blows the hair out of his face. 

“You were banned from the Lab, and this is technically part of the Lab. I don’t know why you were allowed to come.” He crosses his arms and looks at me like I’m something slimey that just crawled out from under a rock. 

I’m a little taken aback. Sure, Mettaton isn’t the nicest person and we’ve never exactly been friends, in any of the timelines. But he’s never been this mean to me. 

“Umm..” is all I get out. I don’t like confrontation. I always clam up. 

“I heard they threw out the Determination Project because you were too scared.” He sneers down at me. 

“How do you know about--” I begin, shocked.

“Darling, I know EVERYTHING that goes on in the Lab.” he says, narrowing his eyes at me and smiling. I don’t like what he’s implying. 

“I’d like to think that if I was the only hope the Underground had of leaving this place, I wouldn’t be so selfish.” He says haughtily.

I stare up at him, frozen to the ground. I feel unpleasantly hot all over and there’s a ball of panic crawling up my throat. 

“And what is that you’re wearing?” He looks me up and down with poisonous eyes. 

I should just walk away. I could definitely do that. So why am I not doing that? Why, instead, am I just standing here, dumbstruck? I start to shake and tears spring into the corners of my eyes. 

“What’re y’all talking about?” Says Sans. I jump and realize he’s standing right next to me. I look back at Mettaton, who looks just as surprised to see him. 

“Sans! I didn’t see you there! We were just having a heart to heart.” The robot says, hurriedly fixing his hair. 

“Yea, I’ll bet.” He grins. I thought I was the only one who could read his expressions, but Mettaton suddenly looks very uncomfortable. I would too, if Sans was looking at me that way. Actually, he HAS looked at me that way, but I was possessed by an evil entity who was hellbent on murdering everyone he loves. Mettaton makes a scoffing noise and flips the hair out of his face. 

“I don’t know why you’re so taken with this human. She’s nothing special. And it seems like she’s done with you, doesn’t it? Didn’t you see her putting her hands all over prince charming?” Mettaton sounds less like he’s trying to be mean to me and more like he’s actually trying to argue his point. I look over at Sans, and then back at Mettaton. Something clicks and that green, simmering feeling in my chest boils over. 

“Listen up, friend.” Sans begins in his deep, raspy voice. The air around me suddenly feels cold and hot and is buzzing with static energy. Mettaton shivers and looks scared, but also...fascinated? 

“This girl right here--she’s none of your business. And if I see you talking to her again, you won’t like what happens next.” He’s still smiling, and his voice is just as casual as always, but the lights in his eyes have gone out. 

“You can’t talk to me like that!” Mettaton speaks up. I might be imagining it, but he looks like he’s somehow enjoying this. This robot is fucking crazy. 

“I just did, though, didn’t I? So. You’re about to walk away, or I’m about to shut you down. I’ll leave it up to you.” I notice Sans is shaking just a little, but I don’t think I would have noticed if he wasn’t standing so close to me. 

“Shut me down??? The NERVE!” Mettaton turns away dramatically and saunters off, but he looks back over his shoulder and winks at Sans. Something inside me wants to run after him and tear his hair out. 

Sans stiffens next to me and claps a hand over his left socket. I suddenly notice how static my hair is. I step away from him, because I know he needs to calm down. 

“Sans?” I say softly. He shakes his head and closes his uncovered eye tightly. He’s grinding his teeth. I don’t know what to do. 

Suddenly an alarm begins to sound in the house and water starts falling from the ceiling. The water hits Sans’ skull and steam rises off him. His entire frame sort of slumps over and that static feeling fades from the air. His hand falls from his eye and he shrugs his shoulders. And just like that, he’s back to the casual, laid back skeleton man.

I’m looking up at the ceiling, confused, when Undyne and Asriel come back from upstairs. 

“Sorry everyone, smoke alarm must be faulty!” Undyne shouts over the alarm, “Everybody outside!” 

The monsters who were bored are now wet and annoyed. They all clamor out of the house. Sans gestures for me to go leave before him. Why do I feel like he’s making sure I’m not left alone in here? My eyes dart to the “bathroom” door, which I know is really an elevator.

“Frisk! Come on!” Asriel yells, grabbing my hand and leading me out of the house. I look back over my shoulder and Sans is still standing there by the drink table, his hands in his pockets, getting soaked. I shiver. 

“Oh shit, you’re freezing. Here--” Asriel steps away from me and without warning bursts into bright, rainbow colored flames for a split second (which makes me gasp) and then shrugs off his jacket. He wraps it around me and I’m amazed at how perfectly dry and deliciously warm it is. 

“Thanks!” I say, looking up at him and taking his hand. He smiles at me and his eyes flash different colors. It’s mesmerizing. 

“Pfft.” Sans makes a scoffing noise just barely loud enough for me to hear as he walks by. I glare at him. Asriel must have heard him too because his eyes turn red as he watches the skeleton walk away. 

“Sorry everyone!!! Guess the party’s over.” Undyne says. She looks disappointed, but I’m not buying it. What were she and Asriel up to upstairs? 

“Hey, who says it’s over? Why don’t we all go to that new club in Waterfall?” Asriel chimes in, sounding like he’s rehearsed this line. He winks down at me. 

“OOOhhh!!! Cool!!!” Says one of the monsters in a surfer dude voice. The other monsters look excited at the idea, and I’m almost sure it’s because Asriel suggested it. Pretty soon the entire group is chattering and laughing, and we all start making our way toward Waterfall. 

\---

“Sans!!” Papyrus calls after me. 

“Where are you going?” He pouts, falling into stride next to me. I close my eyes and sigh. 

“Goin’ home, buddy.” I got too close to losing it back there. I was wrong, I can’t be around her. I can’t be around anybody. 

“But, they’re all going to a club in Waterfall, it sounds really fun!” He sounds pretty disappointed. 

“You go on ahead, buddy. You can tell me all about it when you get home.” I say without looking at him. I’m glaring down at the road like it’s personally responsible for all of my troubles. 

Papyrus stops and grabs my arm. I wince. It’s the arm that I broke and it doesn’t technically hurt anymore, but I’d rather nobody touched it. 

“Sans, you can’t hide in your room for the rest of your life.” 

“Yes I can.” I argue irritably.

“Then you may as well just let him win.” He says in a voice I haven’t heard in a long time.

I snap my eyes up to his and pay close attention. I hold very still and try not to breathe. He doesn’t have moments of clarity like this very often. 

“I know what’s happening to you, and I know it’s because of what you did for me. But Sans, my life is only worth living if yours is. Don’t let your sacrifice be in vain.” 

I search his eyes, wanting to remember what they look like while he’s here. 

“But if I lose control, he’ll take over. I’ll be...gone. And he’ll get Frisk.” I say as quietly as I can. 

“You won’t let that happen.” He states. He looks so sure. 

“How do you know?” I ask, feeling like a kid again. He smiles down at me and squeezes my arm gently. 

“Because you love her more than me.” 

I stare up at him, my brow furrowed. I realize my jaw is hanging open, and I clamp it shut. He pats my arm and walks away with that familiar gait. He puts his hands in the pockets of his sweater and follows the group of monsters heading toward Waterfall. 

I stand and watch him until his relaxed gait becomes a march. His hands leave his pockets, his arms pump at his sides, and his chest puffs out. My eyes drop to the ground, and I blink away tears. 

“Later, bro.” I whisper.

I shake my head and shrug my shoulders. I take a deep breath and set out toward Waterfall after the rest of them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Every time I write something about Asriel being attractive I can't help but think, FRISK! YOU WHORE!!!!!!!  
> Thank you all for your comments and kudos!!!! I AM FILLED WITH DETERMINATION!!!


	20. FIGHT!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This party is about to get cray, yo.

As a group, we walk through Waterfall. Asriel hasn’t let go of my hand pretty much this entire time. I think he’s afraid if he lets go I’ll somehow end up at the back of the group where Sans is walking. How do I know he’s back there? Because I keep looking back to make sure he’s still there. I honestly didn’t think he’d come, knowing that we’re going to a night club. It doesn’t really sound like his kind of thing. 

Shit. I have to stop worrying about him. We’re friends. That’s all we can be. Right?? He broke up with ME! 

“It’s over here!” Asriel calls over everyone. We’re in the cavern where the echo flowers grow. Little yellow lightning bugs hover lazily in the air. He leads us to a wall that is covered in ferns. He furrows his brow and studies the wall for a moment. 

“The door is right…..here!” He steps to the left and pulls the ferns back. A stone door is roughly cut into the cavern wall. It doesn’t look very impressive. He knocks twice. A moment later a tiny panel at eye level slides open and someone peeks through at us.

“Password?” Asks a gruff voice. 

“MTT sucks,” Asriel answers, smirking. There’s a loud scoffing noise from somewhere in the middle of the group and I’m pretty sure I heard a certain skeleton chuckle. I smile evilly to myself. 

“Damn right.” The voice agrees. The panel slides shut and a moment later the door swings inward. Loud, booming, electronic music blasts out over us. I gasp as my eyes see the room inside. 

“Come on!” Asriel shouts happily. He pulls me by the hand into a room roughly the size of the Entrance Hall, with a ceiling just as high. It’s packed with monsters, dancing and standing and sitting at booths along the walls. The walls and ceiling are covered with clusters of glowing crystals, all different colors and all flashing on and off. On the mossy ground are thousands of tiny, glowing blue mushrooms. Lightning bugs flicker here and there at different heights in the air. On the far wall is a bar. The counter is made of glass and the bottles underneath and on glass shelves on the wall behind are all glowing with different colored liquids. On the same wall, high above everyone in his own little carved out loft is Napstablook and his turntable. 

“Holy shit!” I shout. It’s so loud in here that I can barely hear myself. Asriel laughs down at me and yells,

“I told you! It’s cool!” 

“Fuck yea it is! THIS is what I call a party!” Undyne roars behind us. She and Asriel high five triumphantly. Alphys smiles nervously, but she looks pretty excited. Everyone immediately starts dancing. Asriel grabs me and presses our bodies together. His hands are on my waist, and he’s looking down at me with glowing eyes. I smile and place my hands on his chest. His eyes flash. He takes my right hand in his and places his other hand just below my left shoulder blade. He begins to dance with me. Like, ballroom dance. I don’t even know how to do that, but he’s so good at leading--all I have to do is follow. 

I’m laughing and clutching onto him as he whirls us around. I look down at our feet, but his hand tilts my chin up.

“Look at me.” He grins. His fangs glisten in the flashing, colorful lights. He leans down closer, and I feel his breath on my face. I’m caught up in his presence, his laughter, his eyes, his smell. I’m having a really good time. 

And then he spins me around, and I catch one fleeting, blurry glance of a sad skeleton standing alone against the far wall with a bottle of what looks like ketchup in his hand. 

I face Asriel again, and I feel dizzy. I grab his arm for support, and he holds me steady. 

“Stay here, I’ll get us something to drink!” He shouts. He tucks my hair behind my ear before he turns and leaves. I watch him go, but I’m not seeing him. I’m seeing a blue hoodied skeleton in a dark room with a flashlight taped inside the lampshade. 

_You never wanted to go home, did ya kid?_

My eyes well up with tears, and I’m about to have a sobbing fit in the middle of the dance floor. 

“Have ya realized what tonight is?” Sans says right behind me. I spin around, but I see him still standing against the far wall. It occurs to me that his voice had been much too clear in this room of deafening music. He’s looking right at me, and I know it, but I can’t even see him that clearly through the flashing lights and lightning bugs. 

“I thought you weren’t using magic,” I say. I hold very still, so as not to break the spell. 

“I can’t help it sometimes,” he says sadly. I hate it when he’s sad. I want to hug him from across the room. 

“What’s tonight?” I ask instead. 

“As of midnight this will officially be the longest timeline,” he says in a hollow voice. 

“You’ve been counting?” 

“Old habits…” he shrugs. I can hear him in my heart. Why oh why am I always so sad?

“Sans...are you sure...we can’t…” 

“I wish we could.” He says in agony, and I grasp at my heart hiding behind my ribcage. It will always be blue. 

Asriel returns with drinks and stands between us. I’m snapped out of the spell, and I suddenly remember I’m in a packed nightclub surrounded by monsters, with music so loud that I can’t hear my heartbeat. 

This all seems so loud and jarring. These lights are giving me a headache. Maybe this isn’t my kind of thing, afterall. 

\---

(the first timeline) 

Oh god, I’m stuck down here. The power is out and the elevator is broken and I’m STUCK DOWN HERE. 

I’m hiding under one of the beds in this huge, dark, dusty room. I can hear the moans and distant, chilling laughter of those hellish ghost monsters. What are those things? They seem familiar but so...distorted. I feel like they know I’m under here. 

There’s a noise like footsteps close by, but it fades away before I’m sure. 

I lie on my back and bring my knees up to my chest. The bottom of the bed creaks as my legs push against it. Fuck, they heard that, I know they heard that! I close my eyes and wish I was somewhere else. Anywhere else. I wish I was in his house. I wish I was on the couch. I wish he was next to me. 

“Heya.” 

I cry out and jolt away from the voice next to my head. It takes my eyes a few seconds of terror to realize that Sans is staring at me, upside down. He’s hanging over the side of the bed and his head is right next to mine. He’s got a stupid, upside down grin on his stupid, upside down skull. 

I’m so relieved to see him I burst into tears. He stops smiling. 

“Hey...kid...I didn’t mean to--” his eye sockets widen as he slips off the bed. His skull hits the floor with a sharp thunk and the rest of his body follows. 

“...OOOUUuuuch.” He groans and closes his eye sockets. He rubs his skull with one of his skeleton hands, which creates a soft grinding sound. 

“Are you ok???” I ask in a shaky voice. 

“Ugh. Yea. Yea I’m fine, serves me right, eh?” He opens one eye and grins sheepishly at me. 

I’m just so glad he’s here! I reach out and grab the front of his jacket with both hands. I use my legs pressed against the bottom of the bed as leverage and pull him across the slippery floor until he’s under the bed with me. He looks at me with wide eye sockets, the lights inside a little bigger than usual, and his cheeks glow a faint blue in the dark under the bed. I tangle my legs in his and bury my face in his shirt. 

“You’re shaking…” he says softly. His arm sneaks under my head, and he wraps the other around my middle. He pulls me closer. I know it’s weird, but I can’t pretend like I don’t have a huge crush on this skeleton anymore. And maybe I’m crazy, but I’m pretty sure he’s got a crush on me too. 

“Whatchu doing down here, anyways?” He asks, his voice is a low rumble. 

“Alphys wanted me to come down here...she said she wanted me to know the truth...I don’t know what she was talking about.” I explain. Did I imagine it, or did his arm around me stiffen for a fraction of a second when I said the word, truth?

“Heh, but what are you doing _down here,_ under this bed??” He chuckles next to my ear. 

Now that he’s here and I’ve calmed down, it seems silly that I was so afraid. I’m twenty five years old, what the heck am I doing hiding under beds? 

“The power went out. I got stuck down here...there are these weird, creepy, ghost monsters following me around..” I fail to make it sound as frightening as it was. 

“Poor kid.” He says, giving me a little squeeze. I’m surprised, because he’s not making fun of me at all..

“What are _you_ doing down here?” I poke him in the ribs and he grunts. He doesn’t like it when I do that, but I enjoy bothering him. 

“Came down here cuz you were.” He mumbles. 

“What do you mean? How did you know I was here?” I ask, frowning into his chest. 

“I just, ah…” he trails off. It’s not like Sans to be at a loss for words. I draw back and look into his face. His cheeks are glowing so brightly blue that the lights in his eyes look like fading stars. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him look embarrassed until now. 

“Sans?” I pry further. 

“I just knew you were here, alright?” He furrows his brow and his mouth is turned downward, but he’s still blushing so brightly that I almost need to squint my eyes. 

“Oh my god, do you watch me on cameras like Alphys???” I exclaim, beginning to blush myself. His eye sockets widen, and he scrambles to correct me. 

“NO! No, no, god no. Nothing like that.” He shakes his head and looks off into space like he’s trying to figure out how to explain something to me. I stay quiet and just watch his face as he thinks it over. 

“Alright, look, don’t freak out, but...my kind of magic...one of my abilities...I just know where everyone is.” He still isn’t looking at me. 

“Everyone? All the time?” 

“Everyone I know. Not all the time...just when I...search for them.” He looks into my eyes. He’s waiting for my reaction and he looks a little...scared. 

“You were searching for me? Why?” I ask quietly. His blush gets bluer. 

“Cuz... I wanted to ask...if you wanted to go to Grillbys with me?” He grins, and I’m pretty sure his canines are poking into his lip (does he have lips??). I realize this is maybe the third time I’ve seen him genuinely smile.

And I think... I think... Yep. 

I just fell in love with him. 

\---

(an earlier timeline) 

“The Human and I are going to have a date!” Papyrus exclaims proudly. Sans raises his eyebrows (well, where his eyebrows would be) and smirks at us both. 

“Oh really? Gosh, Pap, I gotta say I’m a little jealous.” He winks at me. I know he’s joking, but I go ahead and blush anyways.

“Feel free to explore the house while I get ready for our date!” Papyrus says and disappears upstairs. 

I’m left alone with Sans in the living room. 

“So, you and Pap, huh?” He grins. My heart starts going crazy in my chest. 

I don’t know what it is about this skeleton monster, but I think I'm crushing on him. Which is weird, because he’s a skeleton. 

“Well...no, he just kind of...assumed.” I shrug. He laughs, and it’s not his usual chuckle--he actually laughs. He stops himself short though, coughs and shoves his hands into his pockets. His cheekbones turn very slightly blue. Oh my god. He’s embarrassed of his laugh. That’s so… _freaking cute_. Dammit! No! He’s a fucking SKELETON!!!! 

“So uh, hey, if you and Pap don’t work out, do I get a date?” He asks. The grin on his face is sideways and the look in those sockets is just plain mischievous. I honestly can’t tell if he’s joking or not. Either way, my face is hot and probably red as a tomato. Fine, he wants to tease? Two can play at that game.

“Sure, I’d like that.” I say, looking straight into his sockets. They widen and the little lights inside shift to the side and then back. 

“Really?” He challenges. His face is sort of blue again. 

“Yea. Definitely.” I’m not even teasing him now. 

“Well, shit, then it’s a date.” He smiles. No, I mean he ACTUALLY smiles. I don’t know how I ever thought he was smiling before, because THIS smile...His whole face lights up and the little lights in his eyes get bigger...almost like pupils. 

“Human!!!” Papyrus appears back downstairs. “Have you acquainted yourself with the house? GOOD! Then let us go into my room and do whatever it is people do when they date!” He beams at me happily. I look over at Sans and plead with my eyes for help, but he just chuckles and shakes his head. 

“Have fun you two.” He winks at me and watches as Papyrus leads me by the hand toward the stairs. Before he pulls me around the corner I lock eyes with Sans, stick out my tongue and flip him off. He busts out laughing--really laughing. He keeps trying to stop himself, but can’t. I giggle as I follow Papyrus up the stairs. 

It’s official. I’ve got a crush on a skeleton. 

\---

“Sorry, I just needed some air.” I tell Asriel as we stand outside the club. We’re leaning against the cavern wall, watching the bright yellow lightning bugs float through the air. 

“Don’t even worry about it.” He smiles down at me kindly.

“I know I can come on a little too strong.” He sticks out his tongue.

“Where did you learn to dance like that?” I’m truly curious. 

“I’m not at liberty to say.” He looks away and smirks, like he’s got a juicy secret.

“Oh come on!!!” I push his arm playfully. 

“Alright, but you have to promise--no, SWEAR that you won’t repeat what I tell you.” He holds out his pinky finger. I laugh and roll my eyes. 

“Fine,” I say, hooking my pinky finger with his, “I swear.” 

He leans down and puts his mouth close to my ear. His breath tickles.

“Undyne.” I swivel my head to look at him, my mouth hanging open. 

“WHAT???” I exclaim. He straightens up and laughs. 

“Back when we were kids, my dad made her teach me in exchange for him teaching her how to fight. He said a future king should know how to dance.” He smiles like he’s remembering good times. 

I’m imagining Asriel and Undyne dancing gracefully together, and it makes me feel oddly giddy inside. Then I imagine what Undyne would do to me if she knew what I was thinking, and I decide to stop thinking it. 

“I’m really glad you came out with me tonight.” He says quietly. That tone of voice makes my chest tighten and tingles rush up my neck. My face burns. He’s looking down at me, but I’m too shy to look up at him. 

“Me too.” I say meekly, staring at the ground. 

He turns toward me and places his hand under my chin. He tilts my head up to meet his gaze. His eyes are glowing hazy purple. He leans down quite a bit and holds his face very close. His lips barely graze mine. 

“I hope you don’t mind, but I’ve been wanting to kiss you since the first timeline.” He murmurs. He kisses me before my enchanted brain can process what he just said. 

His lips are warm and soft and his tongue gently caresses my lower lip. It’s a hot kiss, and it feels really nice…but--

I don’t feel anything. Not a damn thing. But I’m so sad, so empty and aching and _so fucking sad--_ I kiss him back. Because I’d rather be with Flowey than be alone. 

Wait, hold up a second. I push away from him and put on a stern face. 

“What did you just say?????” I demand. He smiles guiltily and crinkles his nose. 

“Haha, sorry I didn’t tell you before, but I had to make sure you remembered.” He sticks his tongue out at me. I gape up at him, trying to wrap my brain around this new piece of information. 

“Wait...so you remember...everything???” I stammer. His face falls a bit and his ears droop. 

“Yea...everything. I’m really sorry about...all of that. But it wasn’t _me,_ you know?” He suddenly looks afraid. His eyes are searching my face frantically. 

“I know! Of course I know. I know better than anyone…” I assure him. I place my hand on his arm and give it a squeeze. 

“I tried not to let her leave me to possess you, but...she was too powerful once you showed up…” His eyes have a haunted look to them. He’s looking at me, but his mind is elsewhere. 

“She’s gone. It’s ok, she’s gone.” I place my hand against his face. He comes back. He smiles warmly down at me. 

“I don’t know what you did, but I’m forever grateful.” He leans down to kiss me again, but before his lips meet mine I blurt out, 

“It wasn’t just me. It was Sans’ idea.” He freezes, and he immediately looks annoyed. 

“Lets not talk about Smiley Trashbag.” He frowns. His eyes are looking less purple and more red. 

“He’s not a trashbag.” I say coldly, my mouth a tight line. He stands up straight, and I see his jaw clench. 

“He hasn’t told you anything, has he?” He says. It’s more of a statement than a question. 

“Told me what?” My heart drops into my stomach. I don’t want to know the answer. 

He glares down at me with red eyes for a few moments, and then his face softens and his irises glow purple again. 

“I don’t have the right to tell someone else’s secrets.” He reaches out and touches my face. His thumb runs gently over my lips. 

“But don’t blame me for hating him. I have my reasons.” 

I shiver at his resolve. He takes my hand and pulls me back toward the club door. 

“Come on, everyone will wonder where we are.” He winks and sticks his tongue out. I laugh nervously and let him lead me back into the loud, packed room. My head is still reeling from everything he’s just told me. I need about a week to process it all. 

And what the fuck does he know about Sans that I don’t? A lot, probably. I shiver again and something disturbing knocks at the back of my mind. That ball of panic is creeping up my throat. Tonight, at midnight. I forgot to hide the cellphone...but it wasn’t ringing this time, was it? I came back just for Sans. 

“There you are! Come on, bathroom trip!” Undyne and Alphys swarm us and pry me away from Asriel. They heard me away, and I look back to see Asriel looking after us with obvious frustration all over his face. 

They push me into the bathroom and immediately begin hurling questions at me. 

“OMG what were you two doing out there??!?” Alphys squeals. She sounds worried but also excited. 

“Is he a good kisser??” Undyne grins sharply and elbows me in the ribs. 

“You guys, stop! We didn’t do anything!” I blush. I don’t know why I’m lying. 

“Oh my god, you DID!” Alphys practically shrieks. Undyne laughs so hard she’s clutching at her sides. 

“What was it like? Did you get fur in your mouth?” Undyne asks, barely able to get words out from laughing. 

“STOP!” I shout at them. I’m getting angry. I feel strange. Something is wrong. They both stop teasing me and look at me with concern. 

“Hey, Frisk, relax. We’re just messing with you.” Undyne says a little defensively. 

My heart is beating too fast against my ribcage. 

“What time is it???” I ask. I feel like throwing up. Alphys checks the watch on her wrist. 

“Midnight.” 

Suddenly, over the booming music, screams and shouts ring through the air. I freeze and stare up at Undyne. She looks down at me, confused. I hear a loud roar and my insides start shaking. I look at Alphys, and she’s just as terrified. We know that voice. I push past Undyne and Alphys and burst through the door, back into the club. 

The music has stopped. Monsters of all kinds are pushed up against the walls, forming a sort of circle. They are all watching something happening in the middle of the room, clutching at each other and shouting with panicked voices. I push and claw through the crowd until I break through the line. In the center of the room, on the glowing dance floor, Sans and Asriel stand several yards apart, staring each other down. Sans has his hand clenched over his left eye, and I can see yellow and cyan flashing through his fingers. He’s in pain. The air is charged with static energy. 

\---

I clutch my bottle of ketchup and watch them dance. They look like a god damned fairy tale. Maybe this is for the best. Maybe I can let her go, if he’ll make her happy. Maybe I’m not as selfish as I thought I was. 

But then he tucks her hair behind her ear. No, dammit, that’s MY move! that’s MY girl!

_She’s my girl…_

Deep, gut wrenching sadness wells up inside me. Magic seeps from my bones, whether I want it to or not. 

“Have ya realized what tonight is?” I ask her. She jumps and spins around. She can’t see me clearly, but she looks right into my eyes. 

“I thought you weren’t using magic,” she says. She holds real still, and I bet she’s blushing. I could never let her go. 

“I can’t help it sometimes,” I say. 

_How could you smile at him like that? That smile was just for me, baby._

“What’s tonight?” She won’t comfort me. 

“As of midnight this will officially be the longest timeline,” I admit. 

“You’ve been counting?” She scolds. 

“Old habits.” I can see her heart there in her chest. She’s always gonna be sad like me.

“Sans...are you sure...we can’t…”

Tears stream down my skull. She will always want me. There’s nothing I can do. I should have known we couldn’t be happy. I don’t deserve to be happy. 

“I wish we could.” I hold onto her heart with my skeleton hand. It’s always gonna be blue. 

\---

(a later time line)

She comes over to our house most days. She always felt the most comfortable there, on the couch, so I make sure to reinstate the invitation after each RESET. I like seeing her there, curled up with a book. She belongs here. With me. 

I walk over and sit down next to her, close enough that our legs are touching. She stops reading and looks over at me with wide eyes. I smile at her and reach out to mess up her hair. 

“Sans, quit!” She retorts. I chuckle and smooth the hair from her face. She holds real still and her cheeks blush. She likes it when I touch her, which still amazes me. I never thought she’d want me like that, being what I am. But it happens every time, no matter what I do. Every time, she wants to be with me. And every time, even when she’s murdering everyone I know--I still want to be with her. 

I grab her book and throw it on the floor. I lay down with my head in her lap and get comfy. She’s tense--not sure what to do. But then, as always, she relaxes. She rests one hand on my chest and the other starts tracing patterns around my eyes and mouth. I nuzzle into her stomach and she giggles. I know she’ll forget, and I shouldn’t get close to her like this, but I can’t help myself. 

I’ve tried everything to stop the RESET, but it always comes. I don’t know what happens in the timelines after she kills me, but eventually--there I am, back in the cavern where she first fell. And in the timelines when we all go free into the outside world, even after I destroyed the time machine, even after I killed the flower--eventually…there I am. 

I gave up trying to figure out why she has control of the timeline. I gave up studying her DNA. I couldn’t find anything on her phone, so fuck it. I’m tired. 

I can’t fix the timeline. I can’t erase the things I’ve done. Eventually, I gotta pay for my sins. 

But, for now, I’m just gonna lay here and let her soothe my aching soul. 

\---

They come back inside. I haven’t moved, because I might as well be dead where I stand. I shouldn’t have looked, but I couldn’t stop myself. My magic is simmering dangerously. If I move, if I breathe, if I let myself feel what’s crashing around in my chest--it’ll boil over. 

She’s taken away by Undyne and Alphys, and he’s left standing alone on the dance floor. He looks over, straight into my eyes. He grins smugly and his red eyes narrow. He knew I was watching. 

This. 

Mother. 

_Fucker._

My eye explodes into my skull. I clap my hand over it and use my other hand to summon a giant bone from the void. It drops from the ceiling, fast and heavy and deadly, straight for his head. He looks up at it lazily and evaporates it with a colorful, explosive column of light from his outstretched hands. Monsters scream when they realize there’s a fight going on. 

I push off from the wall and run at him. I throw my hands from my pockets and long, sharp bones shoot toward his face. He snarls at me and blocks the attack with a wall of rainbow flames. 

“She deserves better than trash!” He shouts, baring his teeth at me. He aims his laser cannon at me. I roar in pain and rage and aim a Gaster blaster at him. The monsters surrounding us scream in alarm and both of us defuse our attacks. Neither of us wants to hurt anybody. We just want to kill each other. I glare at him, and he glares at me as we both contemplate the best way to do just that. 

“NO!!!!” Frisks screams, breaking through the line of monsters. She races toward me and her eyes are glowing brightly in the darkly flashing room. 

Oh no. Oh, God, no. I see her soul hiding there in her chest. Something sinister creeps up my spine and reaches through my arms. I couldn’t shrug my shoulders in time. She runs right into me, and my body bursts into flames. He wraps my arms around her and laughs into her ear. He pulls us both into the void. 

\---

I can’t let Sans lose control. If he over magics again, something horrible will happen, I know it. I don’t know what I’m going to do, but I have to get to him before it happens. 

I can see in his face that he doesn’t want me near him, but I pay it no mind. I love this skeleton, and if I lose him I might as well be dead. I crash into him, and he catches fire. His scalding hot bone arms wrap around me, and my skin burns and sizzles where they touch. A laugh belonging to a man who lives in my nightmares escapes from Sans mouth. He pulls us into the void. 

Darkness. Or, is it nothing? 

I look around and see Sans standing right next to me. He reaches down and grabs my hand. He looks into my eyes, and I see that he’s afraid. 

“Don’t let go of me, kid!” He warns, but his voice doesn’t make a sound. 

“I won't!” I promise and squeeze his bone fingers. 

_I know where we are. I’ve been here before._

“Hello, Frisk.” Strange symbols hang in the air. 

Sans’ bones rattle. My skin crawls. 

He appears in front of us. 

“Happy anniversary.” He smirks. He puts his hands inside the pockets of his long white lab coat. 

“I thought I was the one who made stupid jokes?”

He frowns, annoyed, at Sans.

“I seem to be taking on more and more of your annoying qualities these days. Guess that means you're bad at your job.” He grins and exposes a mouth full of sharp, gnarled fangs. 

I look down to see four options in front of me. 

[FIGHT] [ACT] [ITEM] [MERCY]

I know without a doubt that I must not show MERCY, but I don’t have any weapons. 

“This is my fight, doll.” Sans squeezes my hand. I look over at him and shake my head. 

“He’s here for me,” I explain. He looks at me and nods once, determined. 

“Together, then.” He looks back at our enemy. He puts his free hand in his coat pocket and holds my hand tighter. 

Gaster watches us both patiently. 

“How convenient. Two birds with one stone.” He smiles listlessly. His eye sockets are empty like the void around him. 

“Ready?” He asks.

I nod once. 

“Heh, bring it, asshole.” Sans growls. Only I can feel the fear in his bones. 

The fight begins. 

Lightning comes at us from all sides. I block it. Gaster is annoyed. 

Sans throws his left arm out in front of him and lifts his hand up into the air. A giant bone comes rushing from the darkness below the enemy with terrifying speed. Gaster dodges. 

He teleports into our [FIGHT]. With a look of glee he darts his hand like a knife at my chest. His hand can’t break through my barrier. Gaster looks surprised. 

From his pocket, Sans throws several tiny, razor sharp bones into Gaster’s face. He cries out silently in rage and teleports away. He reappears in the distance and immediately attacks. 

Cyan and yellow flames explode from his outstretched hand and the inferno comes rushing like a stampede toward us. I don’t know how to defend. 

“I got this one, kid!” Sans shouts. He sounds a bit more confident now. 

His arm sweeps across the empty space in front of him in a swatting motion. Bright, teal colored ice flurries from his open hand and forms a thick, frozen wall between us and the fire. 

The fire fizzles out before it can completely melt through the wall. Gaster swears silently and teleports closer. 

“ENOUGH!!” he signs. He holds out his hand and a blinding white column of light bursts from his palm. 

Sans pulls me out of the way just in time. He throws out his hand and sharp, jagged ice shards fly toward Gaster. He easily snuffs them out with arcs of sizzling electricity. As he is distracted, Sans makes a grabbing motion in the air, like he's catching a kiss. Gaster lunges to the side and his panicked eyes watch something invisible pass just by his chest. Sans grabs again at the air, like he’s trying to catch the string of a runaway balloon. Gaster hurls himself backwards and barely evades the invisible attack. He looks back at us with wide sockets, and I can see what he's thinking. 

“NO!! This is NOT over!” My voice doesn't make a sound. 

He grins and his many fangs glisten in the dark. He gives us a little wave and disappears. 

Gaster ran away. 

“NOOO!!!!” I scream angrily. 

“Frisk, we gotta go!” Sans pulls on my hand. I let him drag us back into existence. 

 

We pop back into the night club. We are entangled in each other’s arms. We are not on fire anymore. Monsters are watching us, yelling and running away. Sans pulls away from me and looks into my eyes. He’s in shock. I’m not exactly sure what just happened, but I think I understand something about him a little better. The lights in his sockets roll back into his head and he drops like a dead weight to the floor. I feel like I’m about to pass out too. Undyne runs up to us. She scoops Sans from the floor and throws him over her shoulder. She runs off with him. Alphys blocks my view. She’s trying to tell me something, but I can’t hear anything except my deafening heartbeat. Before I black out, someone catches me up in their arms and the last thing I see is a pair of glowing, purple eyes. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> God dammit Sans, why you gotta be so fucking SAD?!?!?!!?


	21. CALL ME, OK?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The boring chapter!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WOOOOOO!!! let's all calm the fuck down!!!

I come to in Alphys’ room, on her bed. I sit up and wait for my brain to kick in. I look down at myself and see that my clothes are burnt and charred. God dammit. I guess I never really liked this jacket anyways...

 _Shit! What does Frisk look like? Shit! Where the fuck is she??_

I roll off the bed and collapse in a heap on the floor. 

“Fuck!” I sit up, barely, and try to stand again, but I'm too weak. What the hell is wrong with me?

“Sans! You lay back down right now!” Alphys comes stomping toward me from across the room. She looks pissed. She's got a book in her hand, and I'm worried she's about to chuck it at me.

“Where's Frisk???” I clutch onto the bed for support and try to stand up. My legs are wobbly, and I slide back down to the floor. 

“She's fine! She’s asleep! You shouldn't be up yet, I gave you a ton of tranquilizers…” She frowns at me. 

“What the fuck for??” 

“Because I have to give you bad news, and I don't want you burning down my house!!!” She snaps at me. I've never seen her so upset with me. 

“Bad news??” I raise my brows at her. 

“You've been fired, Sans.” She glares at me. 

“WHAT??” I scramble to my feet and think I’ve got the hang of standing, but then I fall over again. SHIT. 

“Stop that! You’re going to break something!” She squawks at me, no sympathy on her face at all.

“What do you mean I’m fired???” I bark up at her. 

“You attacked the prince of the Underground! What did you think was going to happen??” She throws her hands in the air and lets out a frustrated little scream. I claw up the side of the bed and stand up to sway in front of her. 

“That prick had it coming!!” I growl. I can feel my eye beginning to burn. 

She lashes out and slaps me across the face with the book in her hand. My head whips around, and I fall to the ground like a rock. 

“Oh my god, Sans!!! I’m so sorry, OH MY GOD!” She erupts into hysterical sobs and stands there covering her face. Her glasses fall to the ground. I lay there and stare up at her, shocked. Christ, she’s never done that before. I mean, the slapping, not the hysterical sobbing. She’s done that a lot. But, hey, my eye isn’t burning anymore. That’s a plus.

“Hey, don’t worry about it.” I grin up at her. My smile seems to upset her even more. 

“You can’t be so reckless!!! If you turn into _him_ we’re all doomed!” She grabs her glasses and mashes them onto her face. I feel like a real shithead. 

“I won’t let that happen,” I promise. I hate making promises. 

“You hurt Frisk!” She sobs. 

OH FUCK I FORGOT. 

“You said she was ok!” I sit up and my heart sputters. 

“She is NOW, but you took her with you! She could have been lost!” She hisses at me. She’s shaking. I watch her for a few moments, thinking to myself. Maybe it’s time I trusted her. No, maybe it’s time I showed her the respect she deserves. 

“He wants her soul, Alphys.” 

She gets real quiet and looks down at me with a blank expression. 

“What?” 

“Her soul. Gaster wants her soul,” I say as clearly as I can. His name sends chills creeping up my spine. 

“Why?” She frowns at me. She’s not sure how to handle my honesty. She doesn’t encounter it often. 

“He thinks he can use it to go back.” I feel weak again, but fight the urge to lay back down. Her face pales. She’s about to start panicking again.

“But she saved me! She protected us both with some sort shield magic. He tried to steal her soul, but he couldn’t get to it.” I make a stabbing motion with my own hand, remembering how his fingers had been stopped by some invisible barrier. 

“But she knew who he was. She recognized him.” I whisper. I feel extra empty inside. 

“How is that possible?” Alphys breathes. She’s got her hands clasped together and her glasses are halfway down her face. I shake my head. 

“I’ve got no idea.” I give up fighting the tranquilizers and lay back down on her floor. 

“So...you can’t be around her?” Her face is sorta frozen. 

I let out a long, loud sigh and rub at my face with my hands. 

“I can’t NOT be around her,” I say without thinking. I hear a little squeak from the dinosaur and peak up at her through my fingers. Oh boy. 

“AWWWW!!!!!!!!!” She shrieks, trying to shove both hands into her mouth. I shake my head and close my eyes. Fucking Alphys. 

“You gotta do me a favor.” I take my hands away from my face and lock eyes with her. She stops fangirling and watches me closely.

“You gotta keep me away from Frisk.” 

Her face falls, and she looks like she’s going to start crying again. 

“And by that I mean, you gotta keep Frisk away from me.” I can’t help but smirk, knowing how hard of a task that’s going to be. 

“But that’s so stupid!” She sputters tearfully. It’s like I just took Christmas morning away from her. 

“Not forever. Just until I can...figure this out.” I can’t promise anything. 

“How am I supposed to do that??” She demands. 

“You’ve got cameras everywhere, right?” I remind her. 

“OH.” She crosses her eyes as she looks off into the distance. 

“And one more thing, hun,” I say and pierce her with my most intense stare. She snaps her eyes back to mine. She knows I only call her that when I’m about to drop a bomb. 

“Scrap the DT project.” 

She jumps a little and starts to sweat. I’m not mad, I knew she wouldn’t give up on it without a good reason.

“I d-did! I haven’t touched it!” She defends herself. I shake my head at her and my skull rolls around on the hard floor. 

“I know you better than that.” I narrow my sockets at her. 

“Well, you aren’t in charge of m-me anymore, so I can do whatever I want!” She argues childishly. 

“It won’t work.” I say honestly. Her eyes widen.

“What???” 

“The machine won’t work on a living person. The soul has to be separated from the body.” I admit. 

I’m expecting her to be mad at me for lying to her this whole time, but instead she just looks puzzled. 

“How can you be sure?” She wonders. 

“I just know, alright??” I snap. 

“Then why would you suggest it in the first place?” She asks. 

Oh great, more truth. 

“I needed a reason to get her in the lab. I wanted to study her soul. He put the idea in my head. Something about the lab makes it harder for me to...stay in control.” I stare up at the ceiling instead of her face. 

“If you wanted to run some tests on her, you could have asked me to do it.” She looks down at me smugly. 

“No! Gaster has something to do with this whole thing! He wants her down there.” I sit up and try to get to my feet, but fall on my ass again. 

“Oh for goodness sakes!” She rummages around in her lab coat pocket and pulls out a glowing blue lollipop. 

“Here!” She snaps, tossing the sucker at me. I catch it clumsily. 

“Cool, thanks.” I quip and pop it into my mouth. I feel my strength returning in seconds. 

“She’s asleep down there, right now.” She says. I almost choke on the lollipop. Of course she is, it’s basically the Underground’s hospital. 

“Alone?!?” I scramble to my feet. 

“No. Asriel is with her.” She frowns intensely, like his name leaves a nasty taste in her mouth. I feel a sudden rush of affection toward her. 

“Think you could keep an eye on him, too?” I grin around the paper stick of the sucker. She gives me a wicked grin of her own and says, 

“Gladly.” 

I could kiss her, but I don’t want Undyne to kill me, so I won’t. 

“You deserve it, ya know.” I tell her. She furrows her brow at me, confused. 

“Deserve what?” 

“Royal scientist.” 

“How did you--?” Her eyes widen behind her bent up glasses. 

“Makes sense. You always did all the work, anyways.” I smile at her. She doesn’t look as confident about her promotion as I am. 

“You should talk to Frisk...about all of this.” She says softly. The look she gives me makes my insides squirm guiltily. 

“I will. Eventually.” I promise. I gotta stop doing that. 

\---

As I return to consciousness I become aware of one jarring, undeniable, rigid fact: Sans and I still share a common enemy. 

I don’t know who that was, but I know he’s bad, bad news. I feel a sense of terror when he flashes through my mind, but then I remember a skeleton holding my hand and I feel safe. 

Maybe it’s because I’m half conscious, or maybe because I’m suddenly not facing him alone, but I allow myself to remember something. 

Those strange symbols. That inky black nothingness. I’ve seen it all before. My cell phone would ring. I’d pick it up. I’d be there, in that empty place. Over and over he would tell me…

_Climb the mountain._

I open my eyes and everything is blinding and blurry for a few moments. The first color I see is purple. 

“She’s awake! Alphys, get over here!!” Asriel calls. 

My eyes focus on his face, which is very close to mine. His eyes are glowing very bright and I reach up to shield my eyes, but my arms are restricted. 

“Frisk, it’s ok, you’re safe.” He says soothingly, laying a hand on my shoulder. I only just now registered that I’m laying down on my back. I look around and see that I’m in a very white, clean bed. Several wires are attached to different parts of my body, and they run across the bed sheets to a cluster of machines gathered around the bed. My arms have been secured to the bed with velcro straps. 

“What the fuck…?” I mumble. I’m in a small, white walled room that closely resembles a hospital room. I assume I must be in the lab. I’m a little surprised that I don’t recognize this room, but I never did search the lab as thoroughly as the rest of the Underground. This place gives me the creeps. 

“Frisk! Y-you’re awake! Uh-uhm, shoot, I wasn’t expecting you to wake up so soon.” Alphys rushes to my side and starts fluttering around me, undoing the straps around my wrists and peeling off the little sticky pads that attach the wires to my skin. 

“I was just r-r-running a few tests!” She says in a very nervous, very high pitched voice. My head hurts, and I groan out loud. 

“How are you feeling? Here, I'll give you some more MM.” She bustles over to an IV stand and injects a syringe of glowing blue liquid into a thin tube. It flows down and into my arm. My body tingles and feels warm all over as it spreads through my veins. I begin to feel more aware and less groggy. 

“What is that?” I ask, looking down at my arm. The veins closest to the needle are glowing blue through my skin. 

“Monster magic. It’s the same stuff that we cook our food with--the healing properties.” She adjusts her glasses and peers down at me. 

“How do you feel?” She asks. I see her eyes shift distractedly toward Asriel. He’s leaning over my bed next to her. Why does she look so annoyed?

“I’m…” I consider that question further. How DO I feel? 

Well, I just remembered something I’ve been trying to block from my memories. And there’s probably an avalanche of stuff to follow. Someone I thought only existed in my nightmares is real, and he’s after me. He tried to take my soul, but I stopped him somehow. 

Sans knew him too. He was just as afraid as I was. But we fought him, together, and Gaster ran away. His name rings through my mind. How do I know him? I have a thousand questions and no answers. 

“I’m so confused.” I look into her face and beg for help. 

“Yes, I’m sure you are.” Alphys nods sadly. 

“But you’re ok, though?” Asriel asks, frowning with concern. Again, Alphys glances at him like she wishes he wasn’t there. 

“I mean...yea. I think so.” I look down at myself and see that I’m wearing one of Alphys’ t-shirts. It’s a violent pink with a picture of some anime chick printed across the front. What happened to my dress? 

Oh. That’s right. I was on fire. I lift my arms and examine the places where his bone arms burned me. There’s only a very light pink mark across each arm, and I don’t feel any pain at all. I remember that evil laugh coming from Sans mouth. What's happening to my favorite skeleton? 

“Where’s Sans???” I ask frantically, sitting up. I hold my head and wait for the room to stop spinning. How could I have forgotten about him? 

Asriel straightens up and makes a sound in the back of his throat that is half scoff, half growl. Alphys looks extra nervous and starts sweating. 

“I sent him home an hour ago.” She clasps her hands together. 

“Is he ok???” I demand. 

“He’s fine! Everything is fine!” Alphys assures me, but she doesn’t look so sure herself. 

“What time is it??” 

“Five o’clock in the morning.” Alphys informs me. 

“Can I go?” I ask anxiously. I want to rip out this IV and run to that skeleton right the fuck now. 

“NO!!” Alphys and Asriel say together. Alphys sounds panicked and Asriel sounds pissed. 

“He HURT you!!!” Asriel snarls. His eyes turn red. 

“He didn’t mean to!” I yell up at him. I’m clutching the crisp, white sheet in my fist. 

His teeth are clenched and those long, sharp fangs are poking over his lip. 

“He’s dangerous.” He hisses. He’s right, but fuck that. I look away from him angrily and lock eyes with Alphys.

“I need to leave, take this thing out of my arm.” I demand of her. She shakes her head frantically. 

“No! Frisk, you can’t g-go near him--I mean, not right now! He needs time to--” Her eyes shift irritably toward Asriel above her for a second, “He has to calm down.” 

Asriel makes a scoffing noise. 

“She shouldn’t go near him at all.” He says angrily. 

“Why don’t you go home, your grace?” Alphys says. I’m shocked at the rudeness in her tone. And did she just call him your grace? That’s so fucking weird, but I guess he is her prince. 

“I told you, I’m not leaving without her.” Asriel glares down at her. I narrow my eyes up at him. 

“I’m fine. I don’t need a babysitter,” I snap. I immediately regret my words when I see the hurt in his eyes. They turn back to purple and his ears droop. He backs up a step from the bed and looks away. He digs his hands into his pants pockets.

“Sorry. I didn’t meant to...I was just...worried.” He mutters. God, why am I such a bitch? 

“It’s ok. Do you have a pen?” I ask him. He looks back at me, confused. 

“Uh...no.” He looks down at himself, like he’s hoping a pen will magically appear in one of his pockets. I look over at Alphys and grab a pen out of her pocket protector. She looks affronted, but doesn't say anything. 

“Give me your hand,” I tell Asriel and reach out my arm toward him. He eyes me curiously and puts his hand in mine. I turn it over and write my phone number on his palm. 

“Call me, ok?” I smile up at him. His purple eyes get much brighter and a huge smile breaks across his face. 

“Alright.” He sticks his tongue out at me. 

“Now get out of here. You need to sleep.” I make a shooing motion at him. 

“Whatever you say.” He leans down and plants a kiss on the top of my head. He puts his face close to mine so that I can feel his breath and his glowing, violet eyes search mine for a few moments. 

“Later, gater,” he says softly. He straightens up, gives both of us a lazy salute and walks away with his hands in his pants pockets. I watch him go. 

I look back over at Alphys, and she’s glaring at me. She tries to cover up her displeasure at my choices by suddenly occupying herself with one of the machines next to my bed. 

“What??” I snap at her. I feel guilty enough as it is without somebody judging me. 

“Nothing!” She scratches her nose and adjusts her glasses. She checks her watch and taps at it a few times instead of answering. 

“Good, he’s gone. He’s so annoying.” She fumes. 

She can’t be this upset with Asriel just because she wants me to be with Sans, can she?

“Wait, why am I in the lab? Aren’t I supposed to be banned?” I ask. 

“Well, in emergencies--I don't have the right equipment upstairs. But it doesn't matter now, Not anymore…” Her eyes flick to mine and she puffs out her cheeks. She’s deciding how much to tell me. 

“Alphys…?” I prode. She sweats for a few more seconds before letting out the breath she’s been holding.

“Sans got fired!” She hisses. She looks enraged but also excited, like she just can’t help but enjoy drama even when it involves people she loves. 

“WHAT?” 

“Asriel told Asgore about what happened at the club, and the king appointed me as the new royal scientist.” She seems horribly stressed about her recent promotion. 

She rubs her eyes behind her glasses and makes a frustrated noise.

“I’m so TIRED.” My heart jumps at the stress in her voice. 

“I’m sorry,” I say automatically. I don’t know if this is my fault, but I feel responsible anyways. She looks at me with concern. 

“Oh Frisk, it’s not your fault. You must be so confused.” She looks like she wants to comfort me, but is too awkward to actually do anything. With her, I know it’s the thought that counts. 

“Sans told me what happened,” she says quietly. She’s watching me carefully. 

“He did??” I’m genuinely surprised. That doesn’t seem like something Sans would do. 

“Yes. He said you helped him fight with some sort of shield magic. Were you aware of your ability?” She asks. Her air is very much like a doctor. I suddenly realize she basically IS the Underground’s hospital. 

Magic? I shake my head at her, totally lost. 

“Interesting…” she stares at me for a few moments before going back to tapping on her watch. 

“He also told me you recognized... _him.”_ She says without looking at me. Her voice is tense. My arms instinctively wrap around my middle. 

“I...I think I knew him, but I don’t know from where. There are...there’s a lot of things I don’t remember, about my life on the outside, I mean.” I feel panic tugging at my thoughts. I push it down. 

Alphys nods shortly and turns around to fiddle with some dials on one of the machines. 

“He was the royal scientist--before Sans,” she says very quietly, keeping her back turned toward me. I shiver. 

“Nobody knows where he came from. He just showed up one day and...asserted himself.” 

I’m listening so closely that I’m holding my breath. 

“I was his assistant. I was only a teenager. I didn’t know...I had no idea what he--” she clenches her fists and turns around to face me. I see there are tears in her eyes. 

“That’s all I can say. The rest is up to Sans,” she says decidedly. I’m alright with that, because I’m not sure I want all the answers just yet. 

“But... then...how do I know him?” I curl my knees into my chest.

“I have no idea. I think...I’m almost certain that your magic is blocking something in your mind. It has defensive properties. It’s trying to protect you from something.” She looks guilty for studying me. 

“What’s going to happen now?” I sigh. My chest feels tight and my lungs are shallow. I lay back down on the bed and stare up at the perfectly white ceiling. 

“Well...now that Sans isn’t--now that I’m in charge…” she eyes me carefully before blurting out, 

“I’d like to go ahead with the DT project! I have an idea, and it's only a theory, but I think we--you might be able to help Sans. I mean, if you’re ok with--if you’re willing to--” she clamps her mouth shut and wrings her hands anxiously. 

“Help Sans?” Is all I heard out of that entire rambling sentence. My heart is pouncing onto this shred of hope like a starving animal. 

“You stopped him from...losing control. Something about your magic, it protected him because you were with him. I think that if we can extract your determination, we could inject him with it. He might be able to take on the properties of your defensive magic, stop himself from turning--” she halts. 

I study her face for a moment and chew at my lip. I'd do anything for Sans. But...he thought it was dangerous enough to throw out the project. How angry would he be if I hurt myself, or if Alphys hurt me? 

Something Mettaton said runs across my brain. _I wouldn’t be so selfish._ I grind my teeth. 

“Will it help you break the barrier, too?” 

She looks like she almost forgot about the thousands of monsters trapped under this mountain, including herself. I guess she stays inside all day anyways, she wouldn't really notice the difference. 

“Well yes! Of course, that too.” She blushes. She cares more about my relationship status than her own freedom. 

“Yes,” I say abruptly. She looks surprised. 

“Really?” She looks so hopeful. I nod. She smiles tentatively. My stomach starts tying itself in knots.

“A-awesome! Uhm, let me see, what day is it?” She checks her watch. “Hm, there’s still some glitches to work out...and I think we should do a few more tests on you first, just to understand better what’s going on with your magic. I don’t know how that will interact with the machine.” She rambles to herself. 

I’m about to ask her if she’s already built the machine, but I catch myself. I shouldn’t even know about that horrible device. 

“So...can I go?” I ask hesitantly, preparing to be yelled at again. She peers down her nose at me sternly. 

“Yes. But don’t go looking for Sans.” 

“For how long???” I frown at her. She smirks and leans over to take the IV out of my arm.

“Until it’s safe,” She says, taping a cotton swab over the tiny red dot. I frown harder. She hands me a glowing blue lollipop. 

“Here, this is infused with MM. You might have some aches and pains later. You’ve healed up nicely, but those were some pretty bad burns.” Her eyes roam over the light pink marks on my arms. 

“Your magic must have protected you. You were on fire, your dress was ruined, but you only got burned where his bones touched you.” She looks like she’s ready to attach more wires to me. I swing my legs out of bed and stand up. I feel a little weak, but otherwise I’m fine. 

“Can I borrow some pants?” I ask, realizing I’m only in my underwear. Her t-shirt is fairly long on me, but I don’t really want to go out like this. 

“Oh! Of course! Hold on, Asriel brought some of your things from the castle.” Just the mention of him brings an irritated look to her face. She pads over to a little table in the corner of the room and brings me a pile of folded up clothes. 

“Are you going to text him??” She asks rather crankily. I narrow my eyes at her. 

“Maybe.” I say. She makes a little “hmph!” noise and turns away from me. 

“I’ll call you when I’m ready for you to come back.” She dismisses me. I take my pile of clothing and head toward the door. 

“Oh, and d-don’t tell Sans!” She calls after me. I look back at her and see that she’s sweating.

“About the project. He won't like it. He might not be the royal scientist anymore, b-but I’m sure he wouldn’t be...he’d be upset.” She finishes lamely. 

“I’m not allowed to see him, so that won’t exactly be a problem.” I glare at her. 

“Just promise me you won’t say anything!” She demands sharply. I’m a little taken aback at her tone. I nod at her curtly. Her face relaxes, and she starts tapping away at her watch again. 

“Later, gater.” I say before I leave. She shoots an angry look at me. I smirk and close the door. 

I change into the clothes Asriel brought me in Alphys’ house. My cellphone, the one Toriel gave me, is in the pocket of the pants. I leave the house and stand out front for a minute. I don’t want to go back to the castle, but it’s five o’clock in the morning. What the fuck else am I going to do? Plus, Alphys is probably watching me right now on her cameras. 

I sigh in frustration and make my way back to the castle. I’m at least going to take my sweet time getting there. I trudge through Hotland and try not to think about that empty, blank, endless plane of inky blackness. I’ll have to address those memories eventually, but I’ll need someone there by my side, holding my hand. And I’m not allowed to see my favorite skeleton right now. 

Back at the castle I flop down on my bed. Here I am again, staring up at the cone shaped ceiling. I stay there like that for a while until my brain shuts down and I fall asleep. 

My cell phone rings in my pocket and I groan. My entire body aches. It’s daylight outside. I squint at the tiny alarm clock next to my bed and see that it’s twelve o’clock in the afternoon. I groggily dig for my phone. I flip it open and I don’t recognise the number. I doubt Asriel would be calling me already. Should I have given him my number? I know, deep down, that I can’t ever love him the way I love Sans...but if I can’t be with Sans, can’t I drown my sorrows in a handsome, tall, goat-wolf monster? 

_If you’re an awful person, yes._

I answer the phone. 

“Hello?” 

“Heya.” Sans voice comes through the receiver. My heart trips and starts running. 

“Sans???” I exclaim, sitting up. 

“That’s my name.” He confirms. 

“Whose phone are you calling from?” I ask. 

“Mine.”

“You said you’d never get a cell phone.” I point out. 

“Changed my mind.” He sounds irritated. 

“I heard...I’m sorry you um…” I’m not sure how to proceed. 

“Never liked the job anyways.” I can tell by his tone that he’s done talking about it already. 

“Sans…what’s going on?” I ask breathlessly. The memory of the fight comes crashing into my brain with vivid detail. I look around my room, suddenly paranoid that someone is watching me. I wasn’t going to think about this shit yet, but his voice gave me courage. 

“I almost stole your soul, kid.” He says. He’s angry with himself. 

“It wasn’t you. It was...that thing.” I whisper. I clutch the phone to my ear and try to be brave. 

“Yea, well, that thing is gonna be me if I’m not careful.” He says. 

“What do you mean?” I’m clutching the phone so hard I might break it. There’s nothing but silence from the other end. 

“Sans??” 

He sighs and takes a deep breath.

“Every time I lose control, he pulls me into the void. If I lose the fight…he wins.” He’s trying to keep his voice steady, but I can hear the fear. 

“But you haven’t lost yet!” I point out. I’m grasping at straws. 

“No. Not yet. But every time I use magic, he gets stronger.” His voice is grave.

“He’s after me,” I say as quietly as I can. He’s silent for a time again. I wait for him to speak up. 

“You recognized him, right?” He asks finally. 

“I think so.” I answer timidly, nodding my head even though I know he can’t see me. 

“How is that possible, kid?” He sounds distressed. 

“I don’t know.” I shake my head and close my eyes. He lets out a shaky breath. 

“There’s a few things I need to tell you.” He says in a hollow voice. I wait for him to continue, but he doesn’t. 

“What?” I urge him. 

“I think I owe it to you to tell you in person.” God, he sounds so tired. 

“Ok!” I start to scramble off my bed. 

“Not right now! I mean, eventually. It’s not safe yet. _I’m_ not safe yet.” The self hatred in his voice is tearing me apart. 

“Where are you?” I ask stubbornly. 

“Never you mind, kid.” I can hear the smirk over the phone.

“You can’t hide from me forever.” I can’t believe the huge grin that is suddenly taking over my face. 

“I wouldn’t wanna,” He says. I blush. 

“Fine then, when?” I demand. 

“I’ll call ya, doll.” I can hear him grinning. 

“How did you get my number???” 

“Heh, same dinosaur I got the phone from.” 

Fucking Alphys. I shake my head, but I suddenly feel a rush of gratitude toward the nosy scientist. I can’t be near Sans, but at least I can hear his voice. For now, maybe that’s enough. 

“Sorry about your dress. Gonna miss that gettup.” He chuckles deeply. My entire body is suddenly on fire, in a good way. 

Fuck, it’s not enough. It will never be enough. 

“You owe me.” I tease him. 

“Heh, you don’t know the half of it.” He’s sad again.

“Sans…” I want to hug him over the phone. 

“Hey, I got a joke for ya.” He tries to sound brighter. I groan and he takes that as a go ahead. 

“Why did the mushroom go to the party?” He asks. I can almost see the goofy look on his face. 

I sigh and grudgingly ask, 

“I don’t know, why?” 

“Cuz he’s a real _fungi.”_ He waits expectantly. I shake my head, but I’m smiling. 

“You’re terrible.” I tell him. 

“Heh, I know. But that’s why you love me.” He says. I’m shocked into silence, and he seems to notice over the phone. 

“WELL, I gotta go kid. Talk atcha later!” 

There’s a click, and he’s gone. Just because he can’t teleport anymore doesn’t make him any easier to hold onto. I snap my phone shut and flop back onto my pillows. My face is burning. I feel like I just had a shot of MM, and I haven’t even touched that lollipop. 

God dammit, ALPHYS!!! 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love all of your comments!!! every single one makes my day ^_^


	22. TEXT CONVERSATIONS

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Texts are sent and tests are run.

I stay in my room the next day. Mostly because I’m sleeping, but also because fuck everything. My body aches all over, but I endure the pain because it distracts me from my fears. Fears about losing Sans, fears about the DT project, fears about the things I’m going to remember. I’ve been running from this shit for so long...and it’s finally catching up to me.

But I push back. I won’t let myself think about it until I’m next to Sans. If I can hold onto him, maybe I won’t get lost in my head. I lift my arms and examine the light pink marks where his arms burned me. I don’t remember feeling any pain at that moment. I only knew that I had to hold onto him, because if I wasn’t there...he’d be gone.

_I’m going to lose him. Forever, this time._

We went through all those timelines, all that messed up shit, and just when we thought we’d won…

My eyes tear up and that’s when I go for the MM infused lollipop lying on the table next to my bed. Pain I can stand, but I don’t want to cry anymore. I pop it into my mouth and in just a few seconds my entire body feels warm and tingly. The ache leaves and is replaced with a light, floaty feeling. I wrap myself up my blankets and fall asleep.

My cell phone dings. I wake up with the sucker stuck to my cheek. I pull it off and reach under my pillow. I flip open the phone and stare groggily at the screen. It’s 3am. Sans texted me.

**Sans** : hey, guess what?

**Frisk** : what??

**Sans** : chicken butt

I stare at the screen for a full ten seconds.

**Frisk** : seriously?

**Sans** : wat?

**Frisk** : it’s 3am

**Sans** : sure is

**Frisk** : did you wake me up just to tell me a stupid joke?

**Sans** : I thought it was pretty good

I’m a little irritated, but also, Sans is texting me. At 3am. I’m ridiculously ok with that.

**Frisk** : someday I’m gonna wake you up for some pointless bullshit

**Sans** : you oughtta learn from past mistakes, kitten ;)

I sit up in bed, clutching the phone in my hands. I’m awake NOW. Is he talking about what I think he’s talking about????

**Frisk** : I did not wake you up for pointless bullshit

**Sans** : Nah, you just woke me up, got me all excited, and then ran out of the house

My jaw drops. Holy SHIT! He’s just going to bring it up all casual like that???? Alright, two can play at that game.

**Frisk** : Well, Alphys sorta ruined the mood.

**Sans** : she’d be devastated if she knew

I let out a giddy laugh. I’m immediately paranoid that someone heard that, even though I’m all the way up in one of the castle towers.

**Frisk** : we could still correct that mistake

There’s a little too long of a pause before his reply. _Shit, did I go too far?_

**Sans** : U might lose yer soul, but I’d make it worth yer while ;)

I fall back onto my pillow and just smile up at the dark ceiling.

**Frisk** : I’ve lived without a soul before, it wasn’t so bad :)

**Sans** : jeez, no regards for my wellbeing, eh?

**Frisk** : nope XD

**Sans** : ouch. that hurts, kid

**Frisk** : u like it when it hurts tho, don’t u?

I start to panic a little when he doesn’t reply right away. _Shit, why did I text that???_

**Sans** : I could say the same to you ;)

Oh SHIT! I sit back up. Is this really happening? Am I really having a text conversation of this nature with Sans???

**Sans** : you realize we can’t tho, right?

Ugh. He always has to bring it back to harsh reality.

**Frisk** : dur.

He doesn’t text back for a few minutes.

**Sans** : plus, you’re with that prick now

**Frisk** : I’m going back to bed

I snap the phone closed and shove it back under the pillow. I lay there seething for a few minutes before grabbing it back and flipping it open again.

**Frisk** : he remembers the timelines, you know

**Sans** : heh, I figured that out, yea

**Frisk** : when???

**Sans** : first day

**Frisk** : how? ?

**Sans** : when I walked into the castle with you. the look on his face. priceless.

**Frisk** : bullshit, you aren’t that good

**Sans** : I thought u were going to bed ;)

**Frisk** : fuck youuuu

**Sans** : that’s my girl

I lay there and stare at that text for a while. It makes me feel something that’s hard to put a name to.

**Frisk** : <3

I watch the screen pathetically.

**Sans** : <4

I giggle sleepily. He’s such an asshole.

**Frisk** : <5

**Sans** : <8 that's a vertical infinity sign

**Frisk** : oh shit!

**Sans** : Heh, I win

**Frisk** : I let you win

**Sans** : Honey, I wish you would

I blush and bite at my thumbnail.

**Frisk** : what happens if you win?

**Sans** : good times ;)

I bury my face in the pillow.

**Frisk** : too bad I guess

**Sans** : :(

God dammit!

**Frisk** : you’re a sad little skeleton

**Sans** : ain’t nothing little about me, pal

I laugh, imagining the grumpy look on his face.

**Frisk** : yur so cute when yur mad

**Sans** : am not

**Frisk** : not cute or mad?

**Sans** : both! >:(

**Frisk** : you are so both right now

**Sans** : shuttup

**Frisk** : u are really cute tho

He doesn’t reply for a bit.

**Sans** : get outta town, really? I had no idea.

**Frisk** : I'm rolling my eyes so hard right now

**Sans** : I don't even have eyes and I'm rolling them harder

**Frisk** : alright, for realz, I’m going to bed now

**Sans** : sleep tight, kiddo BD

**Frisk** : the hell is BD?

**Sans** : it’s my face. turn it sideways, nerd

**Frisk** : lol, asshole

**Sans** : hey, watch yer fucking language

I laugh and shove the phone under my pillow. I fall back to sleep with a smile on my face.

It’s daylight when my phone dings again. I groan and curse. Holy moly, did I sleep for that long? It’s two o’clock in the afternoon! I flip open my phone. It’s a text from a number I don’t know. It says, “howdy :P”.

**Frisk** : hey asriel :)

**Asriel** : u up yet?

**Frisk** : um sort of

**Asriel** : u wanna go to the library with me?

I consider this offer carefully. My text conversation with Sans last night comes back to me. I suddenly don’t feel as happy about it as I did before I fell back to sleep. Why would he bring up that subject, flirt with me, and then remind me that we can’t be together like that? I grumpily punch out a text to Asriel.

**Frisk** : sure! Throne room, thirty minutes?

**Asriel** : sounds good :P

I emerge from my room thirty minutes later looking a bit less like I just woke up. There’s still some frumpiness going on with my clothes, but I can’t help that.

He’s waiting for me in the Throne Room, leaning against the wall. He’s looking up at the ceiling peacefully. He sees me and an easy smile slides onto his face.

“Hey Frisk.” He pushes off from the wall and strides over to me. Smooth as a mother fucker, he leans down and kisses me right on the mouth, his thumb and forefinger holding my chin gently. It’s quick, and pretty tame, but I’m still surprised he would do that here, where Toriel or Asgore could see. The other day he was so embarrassed about us basically being adopted siblings. I register faintly that my cell phone just dinged in my jacket pocket.

I had closed my eyes and relaxed into the kiss, but my heart wasn’t in it at all. Still, I wasn’t quite expecting that. He looks into my flushing face and laughs softly.

“I like surprising you.” He says in a low voice. I open my mouth, but I have no words. He’s just so good at overwhelming me. My cell phone rings. His expression changes a fraction and he straightens up.

“You going to get that?” He indicates my pocket with his eyes. I’m not sure, but I feel like he might be a little annoyed. I grimace at him apologetically and pull out my phone. It’s Alphys. I sigh and reject the call. I see that she also texted. It says, “are you available today?” I put it back in my pocket. I don’t want to deal with that whole thing just yet.

“You ready?” I smile up at Asriel. He smiles and that sense of annoyance is gone completely. He nods and we head out. He uses his fire magic to light the portal and I try not to look as impressed as I still am. It’s just so freaking pretty. He places his hand on the small of my back and guides me through. I notice that hand is a little bit too close to being on my ass. This guy moves fast as FUCK.

I mean, it took Sans hundreds of timelines to kiss me. Asriel kissed me on our first date that wasn’t even really supposed to be date. As I step through the portal and onto the bright white snow covering the ground, I register that the library is in Snowdin. Sans lives in Snowdin. The slight possibility that I MIGHT see the skeleton makes my heart jump start.

_Shit! What if he sees me with Asriel?_

I reprimand myself for caring what he thinks about my choices. He broke up with ME. Plus, we can’t be together, because I kind of need my soul--for living and stuff.

_Yea, but Alphys thinks you can save him. There’s hope!_

I try to turn my mind off and walk into the library with Asriel. He takes my hand and walks around, peering at the books on the shelves.

“Which one are you looking for?” I ask him quietly.

“This one.” He stops and reaches up to the top shelf. He pulls a book down, and I see the cover. It’s a history book and it looks incredibly boring. I’ve read a lot of these books, but I always went for the fun stuff.

“Why that one?”

“I always just start at one end of the room and make my way across. This one’s the next in line. It’s not as bland as it looks.” He explains, smiling slightly as he examines its cover.

“Wait, what? You mean you’ve read all of these?” I gesture to the entire library.

“Many, many times.” He nods, looking at me curiously.

“But, that would take--”

“Years, yes.” His mouth turns down a little and his purple eyes lose a bit of color.

“Oh. Right, sorry.” I whisper. I forgot, he had control of the timeline before me.

“When did you remember? About the timelines?” He asks me. I look around, but nobody is near enough to hear our hushed voices. It doesn’t feel right to tell him that I gained my memories when Sans absorbed my soul. Pretty sure he wouldn’t be impressed with that fact.

“A few months ago,” I say, hoping that will suffice.

“Why did you keep forgetting?” He asks, his ears drooping. I seem to have a knack for making cute boys sad.

I’ve thought a lot about why I didn’t remember after each RESET. I realize now that I always had a horrible feeling deep down inside that something wasn’t right. I would have nightmares about past timelines. The only piece of information I have on the subject is that Sans is somehow responsible, and what Alphys said about my magic blocking something in my mind. Whatever the reason, I again don’t feel like I want to tell Asriel any of it.

I shrug and try to look sorry. He smiles and takes my hand.

“Come on, I have something to show you,” He says. He checks out the book and we say goodbye to the librarian. He and Asriel seem like good friends.

Asriel leads me across the town square, holding my hand in front of everyone. Monsters of all ages watch us unabashed. They all look totally thrilled. I try to ignore them. He takes me to the Christmas tree, which is decorated extra vividly and piled high with presents. I stare at it, confused.

“It’s different,” I say stupidly.

“I know! It’s almost Christmas,” he grins down at me.

Christmas? Holy shit. I keep forgetting that time is moving again.

“Look, there’s a bunch here for you.” He points down. I crouch down and see that, within the giant pile all around the tree, there are several wrapped packages with my name on the tags. Just from the way they are wrapped I can tell who they are from. One smallish, lumpy package with bright teal colored paper catches my eye.

My heart starts knocking against my ribcage. Is that from Sans?

“How many days till?” I ask. I stand up, successfully resisting the urge to tear the present open on the spot.

“Tomorrow is Christmas Eve,” He says. He drops my hand and his arm snakes around my waist. He pulls me in closer to his side. My cell phone rings. He stiffens at the sound, but only for a fraction of a second. I put my hand in my pocket and silence the phone. I look down and catch a glimpse that it was Alphys calling again. She hasn’t left a message. If it was something really important, she’d be texting and calling me non stop. I frown, thinking suddenly of the cameras she’s probably watching us from.

“Asriel! Frisk! Hey!” Undyne calls, exiting The Shop. I wave at her and once she’s within reach, her and Asriel high five each other.

“Nice! You got her to go out with you again.” Undyne grins sharply at us. Asriel laughs, and I frown at her.

“Chill out, Frisk, I’m just messing with you.” She grabs me and puts me in a headlock. God, I’m like a ragdoll with these two.

“Undyne, quit!” I don’t even try to struggle as she gives me a noogie.

“You two out causing trouble again?” She says, still not letting me go.

“Not today, sadly.” Asriel smiles.

“Better be careful. My girlfriend is out for revenge.” Undyne says mock forebodingly.

“Tell her I’m sorry for getting her promoted.” He sticks his tongue out at her. I’m suddenly very annoyed with him.

“Undyne, let go!” I fume. She releases me, and I make sure to step just out of reach of Asriel. He notices.

“Frisk, don’t be mad at me,” he pouts.

“I’m not.” I gripe. I totally am, though. He was fighting with Sans. I don’t know who started it, but I bet Asriel isn’t exactly innocent. Plus, he got Sans fired.

“She fights with her boyfriends, it’s kind of her thing,” Undyne says.

“Why don’t you mind your own business???” I snap up at her. Her eyes flash. She grabs me again to noogie me. I scream in frustration and Asriel makes her stop.

“Ok, ok, give her back before you break her.” He holds out his arms, and she releases me to him, laughing maliciously.

“Alright, punks, I’m out of here. See you at the Christmas party!” She waves and trudges away.

“Another party?” I groan. Asriel laughs and hugs me to him.

“It’s Christmas, Frisk. It’ll be fun.”

My eyes drift toward the skeleton brother’s house. It’s permanently decorated with Christmas lights. Does he realize what today is?

I push away from Asriel, and he lets me go reluctantly.

“Are you really mad?” He looks down at me and his face falls.

“You could have hurt each other.” I scold him. His eyes become less purple and more red, but he doesn’t say anything. I look back toward their house and see Papyrus coming out of the front door. Involuntarily, I start walking quickly toward him. Asriel catches my hand and pulls me back.

“Where are you going??” He demands. I pull my hand away from him and start booking it toward the house. I’m going for it! I’m gonna get there!

My pocket makes a buzzing sound and my entire body receives an electric shock. I stop abruptly and cry out. It didn’t hurt THAT bad, but SHIT!

“DON’T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT!!!!” Alphys’ voice shrieks at me from my pocket. What the fuck?? I pull out my phone and stare at it.

“Alphys???” I yell at the phone.

“I told you!!! No Sans!!!” She yells back from the phone’s receiver.

Oh my god. She’s watching me AND trying to control where I go. AND trying to interrupt any romantic moments with Asriel. This fucking dinosaur!!!!

“Yea, and what if I drop the phone?!?” I yell.

“I have Undyne on standby!!!!” She squawks angrily, but I can hear the uncertainty in her voice.

“What’s going on??” Asriel asks, striding up next to me.

“She hacked my phone!!!” I yell up at him. His eyes widen at the frustrated look on my face.

“She’s watching, yea?” He doesn’t sound too surprised. I just kind of seeth up at him, clutching the phone. He smirks and takes the phone out of my hands and puts it in his coat pocket.

“HEY!” Alphys voice is muffled. He grins a little bit evilly and leans down to kiss me. This kiss is less tame than the one in the castle and lasts a bit longer, and there’s definitely some frustration in it as well.

Oh god, everyone can see!!!! His pocket buzzes angrily and his body stiffens for just a moment. He laughs under his breath and straightens up. I’m so fucking annoyed, at BOTH of them.

“Don’t kiss me like that!” I snap at him and walk away.

“Frisk! Don’t be mad!” He calls after me.

“I’ll be mad if I want to be!!!!” I shout over my shoulder.

“OK! I’ll see you later!” He yells back cheerily, but I can tell he’s angry now too. I let out a little scream and pick up the pace.

“OUCH! Alphys, stop!!” He commands. I smirk spitefully. I turn left before the library instead of continuing to the house I want to be inside more than anything. I believe Alphys on her threat to sick Undyne on me. And anyways, Sans doesn’t want me around. He said so himself.

_He’s trying to keep you both safe, you selfish little brat._

“I don’t want to be safe, I want to be with Sans.” I argue outloud with myself. Thankfully nobody is around to hear that. The boat person glides up to the bank of the river and asks,

“Tralala, where will we go today?”

“Hotland.” I say grumpily, stepping onto the boat. As we float down the river, something bumps into my head. I look up to see my cell phone flying around my head, held in the air by a tiny, spinning propeller. I reach out and grab it roughly and my fingers crush the tiny flying mechanism.

“Be careful!” Alphys’ voice reprimands me hotly.

“I’m coming over!” I tell her through clenched teeth.

“Good!” She squeaks. I shove the phone in my pocket. Someone texts me. I rip the phone out, prepared to yell at Alphys again, but when I flip it open I see that it was Sans.

**Sans** : Nice try babe

I glare at the text and snap the phone shut. I spend the rest of the boat trip grinding my teeth.

I don’t even knock on her door, I just barge in.

“Hello??” I call out harshly. There’s no answer. I guess she’s down in the lab. I don’t wait for her to come get me, I just pace over to the “bathroom” and punch the button. The elevator opens and I step in. There’s only one button, so I punch that one too.

When the door opens I realize I have no idea where she is down here. Even though it’s bright and clean and not full of mutant ghost monsters, this place still gives me the creeps. It’s too quiet down here.

\---

(In an old timeline)

She’s down there again. I grind my teeth. I hid the time machine, but if I don’t go down there and get her, there’s a chance she’ll find it. Christ, I’m so tired of keeping her out of trouble.

I teleport into the dark, dusty lab and something unpleasant crawls up my spine. I don’t come down here if I can help it. I hate this place.

I know she’s hiding there, under the bed. Memories of the first timeline flash through my mind unbidden. I narrow my eyes.

_I don’t care anymore. I’m tired._

“I know you’re here.” I call out boredly. I hear her squeak in fear. I roll my eyes and stroll over to the bed.

“Come on, you shouldn’t be down here.” I say. She doesn’t answer. I make a frustrated noise and my eye pops into my left socket. I levitate the bed up into the air and set it down a ways off. It crashes to the ground a little rougher than I meant it to. She’s curled up there on the dusty floor, covering her face with her arms. My heart twinges in my chest.

_No, I’m sick of this._

I crouch down and roll her over and try to pull her to her feet. She jumps at my touch and pulls away from me. She crawls backward, looking up at me with fear in her eyes. She’s crying.

_God dammit. That’s my kryptonite._

“Come on...let’s go.” I say as gently as I dare, holding out my hand. She doesn’t trust me. I don’t blame her. I’ve been awful to her this time. Well, I’ve ignored her. And when I had to interact with her I made sure to be rude. I don’t want her looking at me like that anymore.

Still, she eventually accepts my hand. Is there nothing I can do to make her hate me? I pull her to her feet and teleport us both out of the lab. She looks around us at our new surroundings, amazed. I’ve teleported us right outside the MTT hotel. I let go of her hand and put my hands in my pockets. I look away from her face. I’ve seen that reaction a thousand times. It doesn’t amuse me anymore.

_You sure about that, buddy?_

“Um...thanks.” She says quietly. She’s still got tears running down her face.

_Fuck._

“You should eat something. It’ll make you feel better. Come on.” I gesture for her to follow me into the hotel. She’s probably wondering why I’m being so nice to her, and doesn’t move.

“I don’t have any money…” she says awkwardly, looking down at her feet.

I walk back to her and grab her hand. She jumps, but doesn’t pull away.

“It’s on me.” I say, annoyed.

As I lead her into the building, I refuse to enjoy the feeling of her hand in mine. I won’t start that again.

She sits there at the table and stares at her food, but hasn’t touched it. I sit across from her and wait impatiently.

“Why are you so mean to me?” She asks suddenly. My heart starts to hammer in my chest.

_This kid, I swear._

“I dunno whatchu mean.” I say in a deadpan voice, not meeting her gaze.

“Well...you obviously hate me, but you’re always there when I need you. I don’t get it.” Her voice is shaking, but the kid’s got courage. Even without her soul, she’s determined as hell.

“I don’t hate you.” I gripe. I don’t call her pet names anymore. She’s silent for a bit.

“I don’t hate you, either.” My eyes flick to her face without my permission and I see that she’s blushing.

_Every time. Every fucking time._

I have to make her hate me. It’ll be easier that way, when the RESET comes.

“I’m not a good person, Frisk.” I say, staring down at the table.

\---

My shoulders jump when he says my name. He’s never called me that before.

“What?” I ask breathlessly. He’s not looking at me, but I can see that the little lights in his eyes have gone out.

“You oughtta hate me.” He says in a very low, quiet voice. Chills run up my back.

I guess he’s right. He’s been rude to me, even mean at times. Everyone else I’ve met here, after initially trying to kill me, has become a good friend. He never tried to kill me. He never became my friend. And yet, whenever I’m in a pinch, whenever I’m afraid, there he is.

And everytime I see him, everytime he’s around, I want him to like me. I want him to touch me. I want him to look at me. I don’t understand it, but I can’t pretend like I’m not oddly attracted to this angry skeleton.

“Why?” I whisper and start shivering. It’s suddenly too cold in this restaurant.

“If your goat mom hadn’t made me promise, do ya know what would have happened?” He looks up at me, and I grip my shirt in my hands. I shake my head no. I don’t know what he’s talking about. How does he know about Toriel? None of the other monsters have ever mentioned her.

“ **Y o u ’ d  b e  d e a d  w h e r e  y o u  s t a n d**.”

I stand up abruptly and my chair falls backward, crashing to the ground. The few monsters in the restaurant grow quiet and look around at us. I stare down at his blank, cold face. There was an eerily familiar hiss in his voice. I clutch at my chest, feeling incredibly empty inside. I whip around and run out of the restaurant. I’m terrified. Monsters watch me curiously as I run out of the hotel. I keep running and running, but I don’t get tired. It hits me like a bullet that my heart isn’t pounding. Why can’t I feel my heartbeat?

He suddenly appears in front of me, and I run into him. He wraps his arms around me. I push away from him, but he holds me tightly.

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” He says into my ear. I freeze and stop struggling.

He’s crying.

I stay very still and let him hold me. I can feel his heartbeat against my chest. That feeling calms me down, somehow. He holds me closer and hides his face in the space between my neck and shoulder. I find myself wrapping my arms around him.

“I can’t do this anymore, Frisk.” There’s a deep, deep agony in his broken voice. His entire body is shaking.

“Do what?”

A strangled sob escapes his mouth. I hold onto him tighter. My poor little skeleton.

\---

I walk through the lab, into the room that used to have a ton of beds lined up in rows. Now it’s full of machines and desks, all of their surfaces littered with papers and glass test tubes and strange tools. I walk up to the nearest desk and look at the papers strewn over its surface. My name stands out to me on one of them. I snatch it up and run my eyes over the sentence.

What the fuck? I start reading at the beginning of the page. This is...this is a story. About me and Sans. And it’s definitely a certain TYPE of story. OH MY GOD.

“DON’T READ THAT!!!!!!!!!!” Alphys shrieks, tearing the paper from my hands. Her face is beat red and her glasses are almost falling off her nose. She’s breathing heavily and staring at me with wide, wide eyes.

“Are you writing...dirty fanfiction about us?!?!??” I hiss at her. This is a whole new level of crazy, even for Alphys.

“You shouldn’t go reading things that don’t belong to you!!!” She yells at me, completely flustered.

“Dude…” I shake my head at her, flabbergasted.

“I wrote it a long time ago! Don’t judge me!” She fumes, gathering up several more papers from the desk and shoving them haphazardly into a pocket inside her lab coat.

I decide pretending this never happened is the best coarse of action.

“Stop trying to sabotage Asriel.” I say, returning to my grumpy mood.

“I don’t need to! You’d don’t even care if you both die, you’re so in love with Sans!” She glares at me, and I remember how selfish I’m being. Sans is her friend, and she’s worried about him too. And she’s worried about me. I look down at the ground, ashamed.

“Sorry.” I grumble.

“That’s alright,” She says stiffly. I shuffle my feet.

“Do I have your permission to run some tests on your person?” She asks very formally. I look up at her and smirk. She’s not quite ready to forgive me.

“Um, yea. Sure.”

“Good. Follow me.” She turns and bustles away. I follow silently after her. She takes me to that same room I woke up in just the other day. She points at the bed, and I lay down on it. I watch her rummage around the room for a bit, gathering different tools and supplies. She leans over me and starts attatching those sticky pads with the wires onto different parts of my body, including my legs, arms and forehead.

“Lift up your shirt, please.” She asks like a doctor. I remember that page of fanfiction I just saw and feel extremely uncomfortable with her seeing that much of my body. She looks into my face and rolls her eyes.

“Oh for goodness sakes, Frisk. I’ve already seen most of you. I did this the other day while you were unconscious.” She doesn’t look as guilty about running tests on me without my permission as she should. I’m suddenly wondering if Asriel was present for that event.

“Look, I need to monitor your heartbeat. That’s all this one is.” She holds up the sticky pad with the wire running from it and eyes me impatiently. I nod and lift up my shirt. She places the little round piece of tape just over my heart and pulls my shirt back down. I wish I knew how to stop myself from blushing. She doesn’t seem to notice and turns away to mess with the switches on one of the machines by the bedside.

“Alright, first I’m going to send some signals through your body. I want to see how your magic reacts to each of these.” My stomach starts to turn now that this is actually happening. She looks at me and sees that I’m nervous. Her face softens finally, and she smiles kindly down at me.

“It shouldn’t hurt, but if it does, you let me know, alright?”

I nod silently. My jaw is clenched too tight to say anything.

She flips one of the switches on a little machine next to her and it starts beeping.

“That’s just the heart monitor.” She explains gently. I nod once. The machine beeps faster. I swear I see her smirk before she turns away to shuffle over to a different machine. This one is bigger and has hundreds of buttons. Her hand runs over the machine and her fingers expertly hit buttons here and there. I feel a strange vibration run through my entire body. I jump, startled, but it doesn’t hurt. She watches my reaction and nods to herself, apparently satisfied with the results. She turns the machine off.

“It seems like your magic doesn’t have any offensive properties.” She says more to herself than me. She moves to a different machine, which has a glowing front panel that she taps with her pointy, yellow fingers. It reacts like a touch screen, flashing different colors under her fingertips. Every single muscle in my body makes a little jump. It’s an unpleasant feeling, but again, doesn’t hurt.

“Hm.” she frowns at me, but doesn’t comment further. She moves on from that machine, and I’m glad. I don’t like that one.

“Now this one...just try to relax, ok?” She instructs me. I nod and clutch at the bed sheets. She shakes her head at me,

“It won’t hurt, but I’m about to send a signal at the block in your mind. I did this the other night, and nothing happened, but you were unconscious. Your magic might have had it’s guard down. But you need to relax, alright?”

Nothing happened? Not true, I remembered something. That dark, blank place. Him. I should tell her this, I’m sure, but I don’t.

_Tell her, you idiot!!!_

“Ready?” She asks, searching my face. I nod and relax my hands. She turns to the machine next to her, which is an unimpressive metal box with one, single switch on top. She puts her finger over the switch and looks back at me before flipping it.

At first, nothing happens. Then, from deep inside, panic starts clawing its way up my throat. I close my eyes and try to breathe, but my lungs won’t let the air in. Behind my eyelids, pictures begin to flash.

A white lab coat. A tall, sinister man. A large, metal, humming machine. I walk up to the machine and place my hands against its smooth, shining surface. He laughs and every muscle seizes up in terror. We’re inside the machine.

“ **S h e  w o n ’ t  e v e n  n o t i c e  y o u ’ r e  g o n e**.” His voice is a low hiss. He smiles down at me and grabs my wrist. I wrench myself away from him, and I’m falling and falling through darkness.

“Frisk!!! Frisk, oh my god!!!” I open my eyes to find Alphys shaking my shoulders. Her face is so close to mine that her nose is almost touching mine. I grab the edges of her lab coat and hold on. The heart monitor is beeping quickly. After a few moments it starts to slow down. My muscles relax, and I breathe slowly in and out.

“Are you ok??” Alphys asks, panicked.

“I’m ok. I’m fine. Don’t do that one again.” I say shakily, letting go of her coat. She leans away from me and takes off her glasses. She rubs her eyes and wipes the sweat from her forehead.

“Oh my god, you scared me. Did you see something?” She asks nervously. I watch her for a moment, not sure I want her to know. I just nod at her. Her eyes widen, and she mashes her glasses back onto her face.

“You don’t have to tell me.” She assures me. I nod again.

“I think that’s enough for today. I’ve got a lot of information to work with. If...if you still want to go ahead with it, I’d like to have you come back in a few days. There’s still a few things I need to test…”

I let out a long, uneven breath. I stare up at the bright, white ceiling and wish Sans was here, holding my hand.

“I still want to do it,” I say decidedly.

“Awesome! I mean, um, good.” She starts peeling the sticky pads off my skin. She lifts up my shirt and quickly unsticks the wire monitoring my heart. The machine stops beeping, but not before it speeds up a bit. She pulls my shirt back down, and we avoid each other’s eyes.

“Here.” she mumbles, pulling a glowing blue sucker from her pocket. I take it, making sure my hand doesn’t touch hers any more than it should. Why do I suddenly feel so awkward? I swing my legs off the bed and stand up.

“I’ll text you,” She says, “w-when I’m ready for you to come b-back!” That last part seemed panicked.

“Ok. Um...bye.” I mutter, meeting her gaze for a second. We both blush, and I turn to leave as quickly as I can without being rude.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I LOVE YOU ALL!! :P thanks for all of the beautiful comments!


	23. HIDEOUT

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Frisk always gets her way.

It’s Christmas Eve. I’m wandering through the castle, bored. I suck on the MM infused lollipop I got from Alphys yesterday and peak around the corner into the kitchen. Toriel’s in there, probably making pie. I enter the kitchen, and she smiles when she sees me.

“Hello, Frisk.”

I walk up to her and wrap my arms around her. She pats my head.

“Hey mom.” I say, the sucker still in my mouth.

“Is everything alright?” She asks wisely.

“Everything is fine.” I lie to her. I instantly feel guilty. Her hand continues to caress the top of my head.

“Are you excited for Christmas?” She asks, trying to cheer me up.

Am I? No. Will I admit that? Absolutely not.

“Yea, totally.” I lie again.

“Would you like to open one of your presents? They were all delivered here this morning,” She offers. My mind is instantly filled with the image of that bright teal colored present.

“Yes,” I say, looking up at her. She smiles down at me knowingly.

“Go and pick one out. The tree is in the Throne Room.” I give her a squeeze before I let go and turn to leave.

“Frisk, my child, just one more thing.” She calls after me. I stop and turn back to her. I know that tone of voice. Her face is very stoic as she looks down upon me.

“Being sad is not a good enough reason to pretend to like someone.” She frowns. My face flushes hard, and I look away from her. She’s reprimanding me. And it’s extra personal because he’s her son. Her REAL son.

“I know,” I say very quietly.

“You are my child, and I love you, Frisk. So, be good, alright?” She looks at me sternly. I quake under her gaze and nod sharply. I don’t like it when she’s mad at me. Her expression softens and she dismisses me before turning back to whatever she’s cooking.

I leave the kitchen, shaking a little inside. She can be scary when she wants to be.

It doesn’t take me long to reach the Throne Room. I see the tree that must have been put up this morning standing in the middle of the room, just a few feet from the two thrones. There are many presents piled underneath, but my eyes only see one. I snatch it up and pretty much run back to my room. It crosses my mind that I shouldn’t be running with a sucker in my mouth. Dammit, I’m twenty five. I’ll be dangerous if I want. I slam my door shut and jump onto my bed. I sit with my legs tucked up underneath me and perch the present before me. I stare at it for a few seconds before ripping off the lazily wrapped, teal paper.

Inside is a piece of loose leaf paper sitting on top of two folded pieces of clothing. I pick up the paper and turn it over.

Hey,

Sorry about your dress.

At the bottom of the page is a big smiley face and Sans’ sloppy signature.

I unfold the first article of clothing and hold it up. It’s a light blue dress. It’s a soft t-shirt materiel. I immediately tear off the clothes I’m in and pull the dress on. I’m so surprised it actually fits decently that I just stand there and stare at myself in the mirror. I look like I’m wearing the dress on purpose. It looks really nice, much more Frisk than the one Undyne bought for me. And it’s not as revealing, but somehow I feel much prettier than I was before I put it on.

I look back at my bed and see there’s a second piece of paper. I pick it up and all it says is,

I miss you.

I stare at those hand written words and feel my eyes begin to sting. I unfold the gray piece of clothing and start to cry. It’s a baggy, cotton t-shirt with the word “SHIRT” printed across the front. It’s the one he was wearing that night we almost slept together.

I press it to my face and clutch it in my fists. I breath in his scent, which reminds me of the smell of a distant campfire, and being surrounded by snowy pine trees. I lay down and hold it tightly to my chest.

I hate Christmas.

\---

I hate Christmas.

“Did ya get everything ya wanted, bro?” I ask. I watch him play with his new action figures on the floor next to the tree.

“Santa really came through this year!!” He exclaims happily. I smile at him.

“Good for you, buddy. Hey, listen, I’m gonna take a little walk.” I get up from the couch and head for the door. I pull on the coat he gave me this morning. This one’s a little closer to my old one, but it still doesn’t feel right.

“Remember we’re going to the party at the castle later!” He yells at me before I close the door.

“You got it, bud.” I nod at him. I shut the door and let out a long sigh. I’m not going to that party. I can’t. She’ll be there.

I shove my hands in my pockets and head right. I trudge through the snow in my black sneakers. It takes a while to get there without teleporting. I’ve hidden a stash there for precisely today. Christmas is the hardest day of them all. After about an hour, I come up on the first sentry station after the Ruins.

This is my secret hideout. Well, it’s not exactly a secret, but it’s far enough away that nobody wants to come looking for me here. I built walls on the back and sides of the station, so that only the counter side is open to the air. I hide in there and drink. Nobody bothers me.

I climb onto the counter and pull myself over into the makeshift shack, which is the only way in. I crouch down and grab a bottle of ketchup. Grillby graciously supplied these, saying it was his Christmas present to me. Best present I’ve ever gotten.

I sit on the dirty floor and lean against the back of the counter. I unscrew the cap and stare into the bottle for a few moments. I reach into my coat pocket and bring out the cellphone Alphys gave me.

_You selfish piece of shit. Why can’t you just let her go?_

I shouldn’t have put the shirt in her present. I don’t know why I did that. I just...don’t want her to be sad. I tap out a text and let my thumb hover over the send button. I know I’m going to send it, but I pretend like I won’t. As if, just maybe, I’m a good person.

\---

I don’t care about the party, but Toriel worked really hard on everything, so I show up anyways. At five o’clock in the evening I walk into the throne room and see all of my friends. Well, not all of them.

“HUMAN!!!” Papyrus practically screams with delight. I accept his hug with more sincerity than usual this time.

“I’m so happy to see you! It has been far too long.” He sets me down gently and searches my face.

I knew Sans wouldn’t come. I don’t know why I’m so disappointed.

“I’m really glad to see you too, Papyrus.” I say honestly. I missed him.

“Hey, Punk.” Undyne puts her arm around my shoulder and gives me a squeeze.

“H-hey!” Alphys gives me a little wave. I’m relieved that we can look each other in the face again.

“Sorry I didn’t get you guys anything…” I mumble at the floor. They both assure me that they don’t care about getting presents. I pretend like I believe them. Undyne got me a pair of dark purple skinny jeans, and Alphys gave me a bright yellow shirt with pink polka dots. Actually, I got clothes from everyone, except Asriel.

He got me a book. It was one of his favorite fairy tales. I felt so guilty just looking at it that I had to hide it under my pillow.

My cellphone dings in my pocket. I fish it out and frantically open it. My heart skitters when I see the text.

 **Sans** : Merry Christmas, kiddo

I look around, worried that someone is going to take the phone away from me. Alphys is busy talking to Undyne about some new anime she’s been watching and Undyne is busy pretending to be interested. I tap out a reply.

 **Frisk** : where are you?

He doesn’t reply. I snap the phone shut and stare at the ground. I need to be with him right now.

Asriel comes up behind me and wraps his arms around me. He hugs me to him.

“Hey. Sorry about yesterday. I was a jerk.” He says softly. He lets go of me and stands next to me, looking dejected.

“No. I’m sorry. I’m not being fair.” I look up at him. He shifts his pale purple eyes to mine. I see deep disappointment there. He understands exactly what I’m saying. He looks away and frowns.

“I don’t understand why you want to be with that trash bag.” He mutters. I know he’s hurt, so I don’t get mad.

“I’m sorry,” I say again. He looks back at me with a pained expression.

“You really are an idiot.” he puts on a sad smile and flicks the tip of my nose. I push his hand away and hug him. He pats my back.

“Why don’t you get out of here?” He whispers. I look up at him, confused.

“Everyone is distracted. Go, I’ll cover for you.” He smiles half heartedly down at me. I step back from him.

“Really???” I ask in disbelief.

“Look, I hate that bastard, but I don’t want to see you moping around anymore. You’re ruining Christmas.” He flicks my nose again. I slap his hand away and grin up at him. He sticks his tongue out at me. I look back at everyone and wait until nobody is looking. I slip past Asriel, toward the Entrance Hall, and I’m gone before his shoulders tense and his jaw clenches.

I’m in Snowdin when I text him again.

 **Frisk** : where are you??

He doesn’t reply. I walk up to his house and place my hand on the front doorknob. I suck in a breath and push the door open. It’s dark inside, except for a glowing Christmas tree in the middle of the room. Its multicolored lights make me feel so left out. I walk past it and stand at the foot of the stairs.

“Sans?” I call up hesitantly. Will he be mad that I’m here? I climb the stairs and stand outside of his room. It’s odd seeing the door without blue and yellow flames coming from underneath. I knock softly. There’s no answer.

I grab the doorknob and turn. It’s open. I let out the breath I’m holding and push the door open. It’s dark inside, as usual, but bright enough from the pale light filtering in from the window to see that he’s not here.

“Where are you?” I say out loud, frustrated. A dog barks, and I almost jump out of my skin. A little, fluffy white dog wiggles out from under Sans’ bed and yaps at me happily. It bounces over to me and rolls over, expecting belly rubs.

“Hi Toby.” I say softly, crouching down to pet his tummy. He pants happily.

“YOU wouldn’t happen know where Sans is, would you?” I ask him absentmindedly. He rolls over and starts trotting away. I stand up and step into Sans’ room. I’m just going to wait on his bed until he comes back.

The dog comes back to bark at me from the doorway.

“What?” I frown at him. He yaps at me and prances away again. After a few moments, he comes back to repeat the process. I might be crazy, but I’m pretty sure he wants me to follow him.

The little white dog leads me all the way to the first sentry station after the Ruins. I stop and stare at it. Of course he’s here. This is his drinking shack. I shake my head and trudge up to the station.

He built three walls around the station so that only the front is open to the air. He hangs out in there behind the counter to hide from everyone when he wants to drink his ketchup in peace. I reach the counter and listen closely. I don’t hear anything.

I pull myself up onto the counter and hang my head over the other side. Yup, there he is.

Sans is sitting against the back of the counter. On the floor around his legs are at least fifteen empty bottles of ketchup. I sigh, and he looks up at me. His pupils are large and hazy. He grins stupidly.

“Hi. I’m Sans, and I’m a ketchupaholic.” He chuckles at his own joke.

“Sans…” I scold. My heart isn’t in it, though.

“What?” He frowns up at me.

“You’re drunk,” I shake my head at him.

“Am not.” He shakes his head. His eye sockets widen as he loses balance and falls over. He rolls onto his back on the dirty floor of the renovated sentry station. He glares up at me with those hazy, round lights. I see that he’s wearing another jacket I don’t recognise. It’s just a simple black zip up hoodie. He manages to look amazing in it.

“Alright, maybe I’m a little _tipsy.”_ He says with a lopsided grin. God dammit, I love him. I make a decision I probably shouldn’t and pull myself completely over the counter, into the station with him. He watches me carefully, but he doesn’t seem overly concerned at my closeness. I’ll chalk that one up to the ketchup.

Ok. Just how close can I get? I crawl over him and his sockets widen, but he doesn’t move. I position myself on the floor with my back against the wall of the station and lift his skull into my lap. His cheekbones turn slightly blue. He looks up at me and those blurry lights glow brighter.

“How’d you find me?” He asks, but he doesn't really sound that surprised.

“Your dog,” I say, grinning.

He rolls the little lights in his eyes.

“You always get yer way.” He grumbles, but he doesn't seem too bothered.

I push it a little farther and begin tracing patterns around his eyes and mouth with my fingers. He closes his eyes and hums happily. My heart flutters around in my chest. I can touch him. We aren’t in danger--yet.

“You shouldn’t drink that much,” I scold him softly. He squints up at me with one eye.

“And you got all mad at me for tellin’ you the same thing.” He smirks. I flick his forehead. He frowns up at me.

“I was mad at you for other reasons.” I narrow my eyes at him. Now it’s my turn to smirk.

He chuckles very low in his chest.

“I wouldn’t call it _mad_.” His voice sends tingles running through my entire body.

“I should have fucked you when I had the chance,” I say mock sadly. I wasn’t planning on saying it, but something about those lights in his eyes is egging me on. He starts to actually laugh, but cuts himself off--as always.

“Stop that.” He glares up at me.

“What?” I quirk down at him.

“You know I don’t like my laugh.” He narrows his eyes at me. Drunk Sans is a bit more honest than sober Sans would like him to be.

“Why not?”

“Because it’s stupid.”

“Well, I like it. I like _you._ ” I return to tracing my fingers around his eyes and mouth. He closes his eyes and snuggles into me.

“You always do. I really don’t get it.” He sighs. Why is he always so sad?

“What don’t you get?” I ask quietly. I feel like I’m intruding on his private thoughts. He wouldn’t be saying this much if he was sober. I justify the situation by telling myself that I told him secrets when I was drunk, so he kind of owes me.

“Well, I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I’m a fucking skeleton.” He gripes. I laugh, I can’t help it.

“Yes, I noticed.” I lean down and kiss his forehead. His skull reacts to my touch, almost like skin, but harder, like scales. His body is a complete mystery to me. But then, he’s a monster, so he’s mostly made of magic, isn’t he?

“You’re pretty weird for being turned on by a skeleton.” He snickers. I flick his forehead again, a little too hard.

“Ouch!” He squints irritably up at me.

“YOU’RE weird for being into a human!” I point out to him.

“Nah, that makes more sense.” He shakes his head in my lap.

“How so???” I challenge.

“Cuz, I--” his eye sockets widen, and he clears his throat. Those hazy lights focus and grow stronger.

“Cuz, I don’t turn into you when I die.” He teases. Why do I get the feeling that was not at all what he was just about to say?

“I guess I’m just fucked up then, huh?” I wonder aloud. We stay silent for a while and just enjoy being together for once.

“What were you two fighting about, at the club?” I don't know why I'm asking. Maybe I just want to hear him admit it. He grunts but doesn't answer.

“I can’t believe you kissed him.” He says finally, peering up at me. He looks slightly guilty, but mostly displeased. I stop tracing patterns on his face and slap him upside the head.

“How do you know that??” I demand. Somehow I know he's talking about the kiss outside of the club, not the one in the middle of Snowdin. Although, I bet he saw that as well.

“I TOLD you, I know where everyone is.” He frowns, rubbing the side of his skull with his bone hand.

“You shouldn’t have looked for me.” I should be at least a little mad that he was spying, but I’m not.

“I couldn’t help it.” He says, defeated. He closes his eye sockets and sighs.

I don’t want him to be sad anymore. Something Undyne said pops into my head, and I know it will work.

“It was weird. I think I got some fur in my mouth,” I try to sound grossed out. It works.

He looks astounded for a second and then explodes into laughter. His real laugh is loud and booming, open mouthed and straight from his stomach. He’s laughing so hard that he’s got his arms around his middle. His eyes are shut tight, and I can see his little fangs poking out of his lip. I watch him and try to memorize what he looks like right now.

“God, I love you so much.” I say softly, tears creeping into the corners of my eyes. He stops laughing and stares up at me, a little shocked. Even though he was just laughing, there’s about a century of sadness lurking in those inky black sockets.

“You _gotta_ know by now how much I love you, kiddo.” He whispers with an anguished little smile. He reaches up and places a skeleton hand against my cheek. I lean into his hand and hold back tears. I run my thumb down the length of the scar over his left eye socket. His body shivers against me.

“Am I going to lose you?” I ask, shaking. He squints up at me, trying to think of an answer.

“Not if I can help it.” He furrows his brow, determined.

“My poor little skeleton.” I choke out. I’m trying my hardest not to cry. I know it isn’t fair when I cry.

“Hey, I’m taller than you.” He says defensively, his brow furrowing. I let out a shaky laugh.

“That’s right, you are. You’re my tall, handsome, fucked up little skeleton.” I scrunch up my face against the tears, but they start falling anyways.

“Hey…you know that’s my kryptonite,” he says softly. His fingers slide into my hair and his thumb caresses my jaw line.

“I just want you to be happy,” I say, barely audible. I give up trying not to cry and watch my tears fall onto his face.

“I don’t deserve to be happy.” He says flatly. The air in this sentry station gets colder.

“Why?” I plead. I lean down to press my face into his. His skeleton hand tangles in my hair at the back of my head and he nuzzles into me.

“I got a lotta sins I ain’t paid for.” He murmurs. His breath is hot on my face and smells faintly of ketchup.

“I just miss you so much,” I say through clenched teeth. He makes a strangled sound in the back of his throat.

“I know you do, baby. I know you do,” He rasps. He props himself up on one elbow and kisses me.

It’s an awkward angle and my neck hurts, but I kiss him back like my life depends on it. My tongue explores the inside of his mouth, and he tastes a bit like ketchup. His hand tightens in my hair. It’s a rough, desperate kiss. Our teeth keep grinding and clashing together, but he presses his face even closer.

I know this isn’t right. He’s drunk and we’re getting closer to danger. But right now, I just don’t give a shit. His hands are on me, his mouth is my drug, and I’m determined to get as much out of this drunken mistake as I can.

I slip my hand down the neck of his shirt and let my fingers explore the spaces between the bones there. He growls in his chest and his fangs dig into my lip. Already I can feel static energy radiating from him. I shouldn’t push it any farther, but I don’t want it to stop.

I reach down and pull his white t-shirt up over his chest. I’ve never seen this much of his body before, only felt it. I run my hands over the exposed, bright white bones. He stops kissing me and just watches my face as I study his body. His face is flushed a light blue. He seems suddenly shy.

He’s not really like a human skeleton. His bones are bigger, flatter, and spaced closer together. The light is low in this little shack, but his bones are so white they might as well be glowing. My fingernails catch at thousands of tiny scratches. His breath hitches in his chest.

I can’t see through the spaces between his bones to the other side. In the empty spaces there’s what looks like solid darkness. Inky black that envelops my searching fingers like a living shadow. It’s like the dark in his eye sockets and mouth. It’s like the nothing in the void.

My eyes travel down. His hip bones stick out of the waist of his grey sweat pants. I wonder what exactly is in those pants? Is it like his tongue? Does it only appear when he uses magic? My hand is way ahead of my brain, but just before my fingers touch his hip bones, his hand darts out and wraps around my wrist.

“Woah there.” He grins, but his face is strained. I realise there’s the faint outline of a blue eye in his left socket. He’s grinding his teeth in pain. He was ignoring it just to let me be happy.

“Fuck, I’m sorry!” I take both hands off of him and sit up straight.

“I shouldn’t have -- you’re drunk-- that was creepy of me.” I stammer. The consequences of what we’re doing comes back to me, and I start to panic.

He chuckles low under his breath and the blue in his eye fizzles out safely.

“Heh, you don’t ever gotta apologize for feeling me up, doll.” He grins and lays back down with his head in my lap. He lets out a long, low sigh and closes his eyes.

“We can’t seem to catch a break, can we kid?” His voice sends jolts of sadness through my heart.

“Sans...are you ever going to tell me the truth?” I ask, watching his eyes. They fly open and those little lights sharpen into pin pricks. He stares up at me for a few moments. His focus flicks back and forth between my eyes.

“I don’t wanna tell ya the truth, baby. Cuz if I do, you won’t look at me like that anymore.” His face scrunches up, and he covers his eye sockets with the heals of his skeleton hands. His shoulders begin to shake. His teeth are clenched.

“My heart will always be blue, dumbass.” I promise him, holding his skull gently between my hands. He looks up at me with one uncovered eye. Tears are leaking from his socket down the side of his skull.

‘I’m gonna tell ya, Frisk, I am...I just…” he looks down at the empty bottles cluttered around his legs and feet.

“I’m gonna need a lot more ketchup.” He states. I let out a teary laugh. I lift his head gently from my lap and slide my body next to his on the floor after kicking aside the bottles. I tangle my legs in his and snuggle into him. He rests his arm around me.

“Merry Christmas,” I whisper. He makes a scoffing noise. It’s dark out now, and big, chunky snowflakes are drifting slowly from the moonlit patch of sky I can see above the counter. After a while, his breathing becomes slow and steady. I look up and see that he’s fallen asleep. His mouth hangs open slightly and pretty soon he starts snoring softly. I snuggle closer into him and close my eyes. I breathe in his scent and clutch his shirt in my hand.

It’s surprisingly warm in this little sentry station.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're gonna fuck that skeleton one of these days, I swear to God. XD


	24. HANGOVER

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sans pays for his sins.

(Before the first Frisk)

Sans had repaired it.

He was pretty sure he had, anyway. He wouldn’t know until he could test the damn thing. He stared up at the large, cold, metal time machine and racked his brain for the answer. There was still some DT in the machine from the last time it was used, but it wouldn’t be enough.

What he needed was a really powerful soul...and it had to be human. It made him sick to his stomach just to think about it.

He wouldn’t become like Gaster.

He clenched his teeth and turned away from the machine. It didn’t matter, did it? He was already like him. And even if a human did fall down there, what were the chances they’d possess enough DT to power the trip? Gaster ran into the same problem, obviously, which is why he tried to…

Sans closed his eye sockets tightly against the fear and rage that boiled up inside him. Alphys said he’d get used to his magic eventually, but every time he felt something-- _anything--_ he was afraid of losing control. The only thing that seemed to work was staying cool. Not caring. Distancing himself from everyone. As long as he kept calm, he could keep it together.

There had to be a solution. There had to be a way to go back. Not just for Sans, but for his brother. If it hadn’t been for him, Papyrus wouldn’t be...

His hands curled into fists, and he shoved them into the pockets of his jacket. He looked down at himself and saw the clothes he was wearing the day he and Papyrus came to the Underground. This calmed him down the most, because if he let his eyes go a little bit out of focus, he could almost imagine he _wasn’t_ a skeleton.

He didn’t want to, but he knew what he needed to do. He stood there next to the time machine for a moment, preparing himself, before heading to the room that was Gaster’s office. He avoided this room like the plague, but there might be something in there that would help him find the answer. He’d searched it before, but not nearly as thoroughly as he should have.

Everything was left exactly the way it was the day it happened. Alphys wouldn’t go in there. Sans didn’t blame her. He stood in the doorway and started convincing himself to step into the room. Eventually, he did.

He looked around the room, pretending not to be terrified. The place was a disaster. Papers and books and blueprints were littered everywhere, on the desk and floor. Jars and test tubes full of god knows what were perched atop any available surface, and if he wasn’t mindful he might knock them over. He stepped as carefully as he could and made his way over to the book shelf. Books with titles in strange symbols lined the shelves. He took one out and opened it, but he couldn’t read whatever language was printed on the pages.

The only thing he could read were the blueprints. He didn’t need to understand Gaster’s language to figure out those. That was how he managed to fix the machine. Well, at least, he thought he had.

He examined the desk. He opened the drawers. He sifted through the papers. A blueprint of an evil looking machine for extracting DT from a human soul sat on the chair. He tossed it aside; he’d already seen that one. He would never build something so horrible.

Something caught his eye. He pushed aside a pile of papers and underneath was a very old looking book. It didn’t have those strange symbols on the cover. In fact, there were no words at all on the outside. He picked it up and opened it gingerly. The book was so old that if he wasn’t careful, the pages would surely fall apart.

It seemed to be a sort of history book, but the pages were also filled with incantations and spells. Drawings were here and there next to the spells, and most of them depicted humans and monsters dying gruesome deaths. A sinister feeling crawled up his spine, and he wanted to put the book down, but something told him to keep reading. The pages fell open to a spot that had obviously been read over and over. His eyes fell upon a circled passage and the words, “last resort” scribbled next to it. That was Gaster’s handwriting.

The spell was complicated. On the page was an illustration of a human child and a yellow flower, and above the picture was the word, “Chara.” He read the description under the spell and his hands began to shake. One phrase in particular stood out and he read it over and over.

“...and with determination, the child was summoned. The enemy was eradicated, but she became too strong.”

This was the answer, but Christ. Even Gaster didn’t want to do it. Sans shut the book and put it back on the desk. He left the room as quickly as he could. His insides shook, and he felt like throwing up. He couldn’t take that path. He wasn’t that desperate.

Was he?

\---

(The First Timeline)

“SANS!”

“HHWHAT??” I scramble to pretend I wasn’t sleeping, but Undyne is seething down at me already. Shit.

“You were sleeping again! I can’t believe this! The next time I find you asleep on the job I’m going to kick your ass!”

“Jeez, Undy, what’s got your panties in a twist?” I grin lazily up at her.

“The human could be coming through here any second! I expect a report within the hour. Don’t make me get Asgore involved.” She frowns down at me.

“Yea, alright, doll, relax.” I sit up straight behind the counter and try my best to look like I give a shit. She narrows her eyes at me, but doesn’t seem to have anything more to yell at me. As she walks away I roll my eyes and glare at her back.

Nobody will come right out and say it, but everyone is confused as to why I haven’t done my job yet. None of them have any clue that even if she was caught and killed, they wouldn’t be able to harvest her soul. She’d just disappear, and we’d all be thrown back to her last save. She’s got control of the timeline now.

The promise I made to Toriel is pointless now, but I’m still gonna keep it. I kinda like the kid.

I use my magic to search her out. I’ve been doing that a lot lately. I teleport to where she is in Waterfall and watch from the shadows. She’s standing at the piano, plinking out a tune. I feel a smile take over my face, which is a rare thing. I make a decision I probably shouldn’t and step out of the shadows. I stroll over to her, and she jumps when she notices me, but not out of fear. Even when we first met, she never showed much apprehension about the way I look.

“Oh, good, it’s you,” she says, relieved. It makes me feel pretty good that she’s happy to see me.

“Heya, Frisk.” That’s the name Toriel gives all the humans who fall down here, but she insists that really is her name. I don’t care, she can call herself whatever she wants.

I look her over and see that she’s a little beat up. She’s got a few scratches on her face and some bruises here and there. That gets me pissed...and feeling guilty. But I can’t keep her out of trouble ALL the time.

“How you holdin’ up, kid?” I ask, stepping up to the piano, closer to her.

She blushes. Huh. That’s weird.

“Um...I’m alright, I guess,” she shrugs. She looks away from me, back down at the piano. Her finger reaches out and taps one of the keys halfheartedly. Her hair hangs around her face, but I saw the pain in her eyes. I feel extra sad all of a sudden.

I don’t know why, and maybe I’m losing my mind, but I reach out and place my skeleton hand on her arm. She stiffens and I instantly pull away. Fuck, why did I do that? Of course she doesn’t want me touching her. I mean, look at me. Come on, Sans, don’t go making yourself more miserable than you already are.

She turns and looks into my face, and she’s blushing again. I grin and scratch the back of my skull. Fuck, my face feels hot.

“I know you’ve had a rough go of it, kid, but you just gotta stay determined. I’m rootin’ for ya,” I tell her. She smiles half heartedly at me, and I shove my hands in my pockets. I look away from her for a second and try to get my heart to stop beating its way out of my chest.

“And, ya know, if ya ever need someplace to hideout...or sleep, you’re always welcome at our house. Mine and Paps’ I mean.” I’m looking everywhere but at her. Maybe the offer is too personal, but I’m gettin’ real sick and tired of finding her asleep under the counter of my sentry station in Snowdin. Poor kid doesn’t even have a coat.

“Really??” she asks eagerly, like she can barely believe it. I look back at her in surprise. I didn’t think she’d be so cool with the thought of sleeping in a house full of skeletons. I grin at her.

“‘Course! We’ll leave the door open for ya.”

Her big brown eyes are full of gratitude, like I just saved her life or something. That smile is making me feel all melty inside.

Christ. She’s the prettiest girl I’ve ever seen. And she’s shorter than me. I REALLY like that.

“Thanks, Sans.” She says softly, and tucks her hair behind her ears.

My face feels hotter. I like hearing her voice say my name. She steps closer to me. My eye sockets widen and my body stiffens. What’s she doing? She chews on her lip, like she’s thinking real hard about something. Suddenly, without warning, she closes the distance between us and wraps her arms around me. I stand there, frozen, feeling her heart beat against my ribcage.

I’m so shocked I don’t even get the chance to hug her back. She lets go and backs away. Her face is red as a tomato. That expression she’s wearing...

Holy shit.

“I’ll see you later,” she squeaks out and turns to walk away. I grab her hand in mine and pull her back. She looks down at our hands. To my astonishment, she curls her fingers around mine.

Holy SHIT!! _No way!_

“You look hungry, kid. I was just headin’ to Grillby’s. You wanna come with?” I smile at her, and she meets my gaze for half a second before looking back down at our hands. She tucks her hair behind her ear again. She’s adorable.

“I don’t have any money…” she says awkwardly. I give her hand a squeeze.

“It’s on me. Come on, I know a shortcut.” On a crazy impulse, I teleport us just outside my favorite restaurant. I watch her face as she registers what just happened.

“Did we just--?” she looks around us, astonished. I guess my magic _is_ kinda cool, isn’t it?

“Teleport? yea.” I reluctantly let go of her hand. Her face falls a little when I do, but I gotta calm down, or my magic’s gonna get the best of me.

“That’s so freaking cool!” she exclaims. She likes my magic. She’s not afraid of me. She might even…

I can’t stop smiling. My heart keeps on skittering around behind my ribs.

“Glad you enjoyed the trip, kid.” I chuckle.

She giggles, and I’m done for. She shivers in the cold, and I shrug off my coat.

“Here, you can borrow this until we find you a jacket.” I wink at her. She gives me a weird look, and I start to regret offering her my most prized possession, but then she snatches it out of my hand. She puts it on and it’s too big for her, but it’ll do. I feel totally wrong without it covering me up, but she wraps her arms around herself and smiles happily at me. She can keep it as long as she likes.

I notice that several monsters are watching the two of us warily. They still don’t trust her (or me, for that matter), even though she hasn’t lifted a finger to hurt anybody. She’s been nothing but sweet, and kind, and wonderful. I glare at them and they look away and hurry on with their business.

“Maybe I should just go…” she says when she sees their reaction to her. She sounds so tired, and scared. Her hair has fallen into her face again.

“Don’t worry about them, you’re with me.” I assure her, reaching out with my skeleton hand to tuck her hair behind her ear. She freezes and her eyes widen at me, but then she smiles and blushes. I grin, and I can feel my fangs poking into my lip.

I don’t feel so hollow inside anymore.

\---

 

I wake up inside a cramped, cold, abandoned sentry station, on my stomach, on top of something very warm.

“Uuhhhgh.” I groan. What the fuck am I…I lift my head and am met with the face of my favorite, sleeping skeleton.

Oh. I fell asleep on Sans. I love doing that. I realize we’re both covered with something, and upon further investigation I discover that it’s his jacket.

_He fucking loves me._

I look up at the space over the counter. The sky is grey and blank. It must be very early in the morning. I dig my phone out of my pocket and flip it open. It’s 5am. There’s no cell reception all the way out here. I wonder if anyone is worrying about me? I feel super guilty at that thought, but then I look back up at his face. It was worth it.

I stare up at him and smirk. His mouth is hanging open, and he’s got a line of drool down the side of his skull. I take advantage of this rare moment and snap a picture of us with my phone, sticking my tongue out at the camera. Alphys is going to flip her shit.

I lay my head back down on his chest. I listen to his heartbeat for a while. Somehow, it doesn’t sound right. It’s out of synch, like when the sound doesn’t quite match up with the picture. I furrow my brow. His heartbeat has always been my base line. His heartbeat was mine when I didn’t have one. I shut my eyes and grind my teeth.

_Gaster can’t run forever._

I carefully detach myself from Sans and kneel next to his sleeping form. I lay his jacket over him. I don’t know if Skeletons get cold, but I tuck the jacket in around him anyways. It’s the thought that counts. I lean down and kiss him between the eyes.

“You’ll just have to trust me, this time.” I whisper. He continues to snore softly.

I step over him and climb out of the station as quietly as I can. As soon as I get within range, my cell phone starts dinging frantically. I pull it out of my pocket and see that Alphys has texted me at least fifty times, not to mention Undyne and Toriel. I dial Alphys’ number.

“OH MY GOD THERE YOU ARE!!!” Aplhys voice screeches into my ear. I jump and almost drop the phone. I hold it away from my head to make sure that won’t happen again.

“Fuck, Alphys, could you not scream at me??” I groan.

“Where were you???” she demands angrily.

“Nowhere.” I say firmly.

“I’ve been trying to get ahold of you! Undyne found out that I’m still going ahead with the project, and we had a fight. She says she’s going to tell Sans!”

I stop in my tracks.

“Have you built the machine yet?” I ask. Fuck it.

“H-how do you know about th-that????” she asks shakily.

“Sans told me, back when I first found out.” I lie.

“Oh. Yes, I’ve built it. And, if you still want to go through with this, I need you to get here as soon as you can. If Sans finds out about this, he’ll destroy the machine.” She sounds like she knows what she’s talking about.

I have an idea, and I start running back toward the sentry station. If I can steal his cellphone, that will give us more time.

“Ok, I’m on my way, Alphys!!” I say hurriedly and snap the phone shut. Just a few minutes later I creep up to the sentry station and pull myself back over the counter. He’s still sleeping and hasn’t moved an inch. I kneel down and my hands hover shakily over him for a few seconds. I assume he keeps his phone in his pocket. Oh boy...

I blush as I reach VERY CAREFULLY into his sweatpants pocket. My hand finds the phone, and I take my hand out as slowly as I can. The phone is free. He grunts in his sleep and I freeze, looking back at his face in alarm.

_Don’t wake up don’t wake up don’t wake up!!!!!_

He rolls onto his stomach and continues snoring. I let out the breath I was holding and stand up. I slip his phone into my pocket and climb, once again, from the station.

And then I start booking it as fast as I can toward Snowdin Town.

As I run, the thought crosses my mind that Alphys wanted to run more tests on me before trying to use the machine. But we won’t have time for that now. What if...something goes wrong?

_Are you really ready to die?_

I ignore the voice and keep running. I’m ready to do whatever I have to, if it means I don’t have to say goodbye to my favorite person in the entire world. I try to imagine what my life would be like without him, and I remember what my life was like before he came along. I start to feel even emptier than I did when I didn’t have a soul.

_Without him, I’m already dead._

 

I arrive at Alphys’ house within the hour. When I want to be fast, I’m fast. My breathing is ragged and my entire body is screaming for rest. Before I reach the door, she opens it and grabs me. She pulls me into her house and slams the door shut.

“LOCK!” she squeaks at the door and I hear something click.

“ALPHYS!!!!! You better let me out RIGHT NOW!!!!!” I jump when I hear Undyne’s furious screaming from upstairs.

“Come on!!!” Alphys frantically pulls me along toward the elevator. I look up the escalator as we pass and see a metal door blocking the entrance into her room. Undyne slams against it from the other side and the metal actually buckles outward.

Alphys makes a panicked noise and punches the elevator button several times until the door opens. Undyne roars upstairs and slams against the door again. Alphys pushes me into the elevator and scurries in after me. She hits the down button so many times I’m worried she might break it. Just before the door closes, a blue, glowing spear strikes and demolishes the floor just outside the elevator.

Alphys taps frantically at her watch as we are lowered down into the lab.

“I’ve disabled the elevator button. She shouldn’t be able to get down here,” she says to comfort herself. She’s sweating bullets.

“What the hell happened?” I ask, still shivering from witnessing Undyne’s rage. I’ve been on the other end of that spear before, and I’d really like to never have to fight that fish lady again.

“She asked me about the tests I ran on you. I told her we were just trying to better understand your magic, but she knows when I’m lying,” she says, looking rather afraid. I guess I would be too.

“What does it matter? You’re the royal scientist now, can’t you do what you want?”

“She thinks it’s too dangerous.” She looks worried about that herself.

“She's really that upset?”

Alphys looks at me shiftily.

“What did Sans tell you about the machine?”

_Hmm. What exactly can I say?_

“He just said it would extract determination from my soul.” I shrug.

She looks peeved.

“The original version of the machine would have done that, yes. But the soul needed to be separated from its host. He admitted it to me that night after the club. I had already figured that out, of course, I'm not stupid.”

My stomach does a weird little flip. He lied to me, again. Honestly I’m not even surprised. He’s all kinds of fucked up.

“That’s why you didn’t tell me, isn’t it?”

She looks over at me, guilt written all over her face.

“Yes. But, I’ve figured out how to do it without removing your soul. At least, I think I have.” She sounds less than sure. The elevator stops and the door opens. She darts out into the lab, and I have to run to keep up with her. I’m surprised at how fast she is.

“How did you figure it out?” I pant as I run alongside her.

“I used parts from a different machine,” is all she offers without looking at me. Our voices echo off the high ceiling. Our footsteps ricochet off the sterile, white walls. Suddenly she stops, and I skid to a halt. I spin around to face her, and I can see that she’s having second thoughts about this whole thing.

“Maybe we shouldn’t do this, Frisk, I don’t want you to get hurt.” She wrings her hands anxiously. I can see that this is tearing her apart, and she’s probably been stressing about it since the day Sans gave her the idea.

I can’t have her backing out now. I can’t lose him. I have to be selfish.

“It was your fault we broke up, Alphys,” I tell her bluntly. She snaps her eyes to mine, and I see confusion there.

“The night you burst into his house, yelling about how you figured out how to extract determination. I was there, in his room.”

It takes her a moment to register what I’m saying. Her eyes get big and round behind her glasses, she blushes, and then puts her hands on her head.

“Oh my GOD! That’s why he was so ANGRY!! I interrupted--” she hides her face behind her hands. She’s simultaneously heartbroken and giddy.

“So you have to do this for me. You owe me.” I feel horrible doing this, but I have to.

She peaks through her fingers at me for a few seconds.

“Alright,” she nods decisively, “come on then,” and she takes off again.

“I don’t know how long we have until Sans finds out,” she huffs.

“I stole his cellphone. He’s about an hour away from Snowdin, or he was when I left him.” I blush, knowing exactly where her mind is going to go with that information. To her credit, she focuses on the task at hand.

“Good thinking. Undyne will probably break down my front door soon, if she hasn’t already. It won’t take her long to find him. That means we have maybe an hour to get this done.” She looks down at her watch and taps at it a few times.

“She’s still upstairs,” she says to herself, a pained expression on her face. She leads me through several familiar hallways until we reach the end of the room with the wall of fans. There’s a door where there used to only be a switch. That’s new. What else is new down here? I don’t have time to think about it further, because she opens the door and we walk into a large room that holds the DT Extraction Machine.

It looks exactly the same as it ever did. Huge and horrible and shaped like an evil looking animal skull. It looms over us, and I feel something unpleasant crawl up my back. I look away from it and follow her around it, to a control panel on the other side of the room.

“She’s out!” Alphys says sharply, glancing at her watch. She begins to frantically push buttons on a large panel built into the wall next to the machine.

“It’ll take the machine at least 30 minutes to warm up. Once it’s ready, I’ll need to you stand on that red X. All I have to do is pull that lever.” She nods at a simple metal handle sticking out of the wall next to the panel. She catches the look on my face and it’s her turn to talk me back into this.

“If something goes wrong, I’ll know almost immediately. All I have to do is disengage the lever.”

I can only nod at her, because if I open my mouth I’m afraid something other than words will come out.

\---

I wake up on my stomach, in a pool of my own drool, in my drinking shack. It must be really early in the morning, and the bright light is giving me a headache. I turn over on my back and several empty bottles of ketchup rattle around at my feet.

Jeez. How much did I drink? I look under the counter and see that I drank the entire pack Grillby gave me. Damn. I look down at myself. I'm covered up with the jacket Pap gave me yesterday. Why wasn’t I wearing it?

_OH. Right. She found me._

I drape the jacket over my head to block out the light. What exactly did I say to her last night? I put my hands on my head over the jacket and groan. I definitely made fun of her for being attracted to a skeleton. Why would I go and do a thing like that? Am I TRYING to sabotage myself?

_She pulled up your shirt, dude._

My face burns, and it has nothing to do with magic. I’ve never let anybody see that much of me. I gotta stop thinking about it or I’ll burn this sentry station to the ground. I really shouldn’t drink that much.

I sit up slowly and wait for everything to stop spinning. I shrug on the jacket and pull up the hood to shield my eyes from the light. With quite a lot of effort I stand up, and I pull myself clumsily over the counter and out of the station. I stand there for a while, willing myself to stay upright. It’s a long walk back to my house. God, help me.

I’m a little irked that she left. I mean, I know she had to, cuz of the whole--I might accidentally steal her soul--thing. But she could have at least said goodbye. I start walking (honestly I’m impressed I even managed that) and try not to let myself dwell on the impossible. We can’t be together, not until I figure this out.

_Figure what out? You’re doomed, pal._

“Hey, asshole.”

I whip around to face the owner of the voice. Glowing red eyes peer out at me from the shadows of nearby pine trees.

“Hey, prick.” I frown at him. Asriel steps into the light.

“You look like shit,” he observes, looking me over with disgust on his face. I’m not in the mood for banter.

“What do you want?” I ask bluntly. He narrows his eyes at me and his ears go flat against his head.

“Frisk is about to die, because of you,” he says, baring his teeth at me. I feel my eyes go out.

“The fuck are you talking about??” I demand. I can still see him, but everything is in black and white.

“Alphys built the machine. She’s about to use it on Frisk. Nobody can get into the lab.”

“I told her it wouldn’t work!” I spit, feeling my magic creep up my spine.

_Fuck! Why doesn’t she ever listen to me???_

“She says she found a way to make it work. Said she used parts from a different machine.” Asriel spells it out for me. My insides curdle. Of course. Of course she did. I never gave her enough credit. She even managed to hide it from me. She really DOES deserve to be the royal scientist.

“Why didn’t you answer your phone?” he asks, annoyed.

_My phone?_

I forgot I even had one. I reach into my pocket, but it isn’t there. I check my other pocket. I check all my pockets. I grind my teeth.

_That little BRAT._

“When???” I shout at him. Everything is turning blue and my left socket starts to sting.

“Undyne saw them go down into the lab fourty minutes ago,” he hisses at me. He wants to attack me, but knows I’m the only one who can stop this from happening.

_Can I?_

I feel my eye materialize in its socket, and I clap my hand over it. The inside of my head is already on fire. I use my magic to search her out.

“FUCK!”

She’s standing on the X. Alphys is waiting to pull the switch.

“I don’t have enough time!” I say to nobody in particular.

“Teleport, you fucking idiot!” he roars at me.

I stare at him. His eyes glow red through the blue. I look down at my chest.

_Can I?_

“You’re a coward.” He growls at me, shaking his head. My eye sparks and crackles painfully in my skull.

“Fuck you!” I say, because I don’t have time for this. The machine is almost ready.

“I guess she’s dead then.” He hates me so much he’s giving me a good run for my money.

The machine is ready. Alphys is pulling the switch.

Without another thought, I give myself up and fall into the void. I’m sucked into the inky blackness with a sharp popping sound.

 

Just as expected, there he is, waiting for me. He doesn’t look much like Gaster anymore. He looks like me, but a whole lot uglier. My head isn’t burning anymore, but my bones begin to shake. Am I really ready for this fight?

“Come to let me finish the job?” He grins and every single one of his fangs glows in the dark.

I stare at him and my sins crawl up my back. I’m tired of runnin’ from them.

“No,” I say. I stand with my feet wide apart and shove my hands in my jacket pockets. I’m terrified, I’m woefully unprepared, I’m definitely going to lose this fight-- but god dammit, I’m ready!

He laughs.

“You really think you can win without your human shield?”

“Yea. I do,” I answer. He can’t feel the fear in my bones. I remember her holding my hand, and I suddenly don’t feel so alone. He seems annoyed at my resolve.

“Is she really that important? More important than going back?” he asks, quirking his head at me curiously.

“Yea. She is.” I lean my head back and survey him from narrowed eyes.

He frowns at me. His eyes flicker down at my chest. My soul is glowing through my ribcage, and it’s still a very pale shade of red. He looks back up at my face, and I grin at his expression.

“I got just enough left to take you on.” I wink at him. He’s never seen me keep my cool before.

“What’s got you so determined?” he asks grumpily. He slides his bone hands into the pockets of his long white lab coat, which looks much too big on him now.

“Honestly? You’re kinda cock blockin’ me, man. And I just can’t have that.”

He busts out laughing, but stops abruptly and looks panicked for a second. I chuckle evilly.

“Can’t let ya have that annoying quality. She loves that one too much.” I shake my head at him. He glares at me. I push my hood back and relax my shoulders.

There. NOW I’m ready.

I look him square in the eye sockets. He’s not laughing anymore.

“You ready?” I ask, raising my brows at him. He scoffs and flips me the bird.

And the fight begins.

I run at him, throwing sharp bones from my pockets. He dodges clumsily and teleports. He reappears a few feet away and stumbles. He looks dizzy.

“How much did you drink??” he asks sharply, steadying himself on his feet.

“Way too much, buddy!” I bark. I raise my left arm in the air as high as it can go and a perfectly square cage of bones materializes around him. He looks confused for a moment, then blasts a hole in the cage with a laser cannon from his hand. He flinches at the light.

I smirk, and just to spite him, I send lightning arcing in a circle around him. He shields his eyes and cries out in pain before teleporting to safety. He reappears a distance away in this blank, empty space. Even from this far away, I can tell he’s worried. Frankly, I’m surprised too.

_Holy shit, I can do this!_

He roars and sends a stampede of yellow and cyan fire my way.

_FUCK!_

I gotta take the hit. The fire engulfs me and the pain begins again. My left eye socket starts splitting open, and I clamp my hand over it. My soul grows a fraction paler.

I grit my teeth and try to remember how it felt when she looked at me that way for the first time.

I sweep my right arm through the air, and a wall of thousands of tiny, teal colored ice shards fly toward him. He bursts into flames, and the ice melts before it can touch him.

He chuckles at me and teleports closer, into my line of fire. Heh, I always was a little too cocky.

“Once I consume you, I’m gonna keep you around so you can watch while I destroy her,” he grins perversely.

“ **Y o u  w o n ’ t  t o u c h  h e r** ,” I hiss.

My left eye explodes into a flashing, flaming fury that licks at the sides of its socket. Gaster backs up a step against the searing heat. I throw my left arm out in front of me and an endless onslaught of bones hurtles through the inky black void at him with frightening speed. He dodges from side to side, but it’s taking every inch of his concentration.

“How’s that ketchup treatin’ ya?” I call out casually, but I’m starting to sweat.

He takes a hit.

“Shit!” he snarls, but he’s holding his own. I’m shaking with the effort of keeping up the attack. The pain in my eye is so horrific I can barely focus.

_I can fucking DO THIS!_

I flex my long, bone fingers and the attack speeds up. His eye sockets widen, and he moves frantically to barely miss each bone.

He takes a few more hits.

“I’m not gonna keep you around,” I say inside his head. He shrugs his shoulders uncomfortably, but he’s still holdin up. I don’t know how much longer I can keep this going.

_“Am I going to lose you?”_ Her voice rings through my brain, and my soul twinges in my chest.

I gather up every ounce of strength I have left. I call forth my blasters and they surround Gaster. He looks into their skull faces and realizes their betrayal. Each of them opens their mouth and charges an attack.

“You can't destroy me without killing her!” He snarls triumphantly at me. He's getting ready to dodge. I'll have just one chance.

I suddenly put something together that I should have realized long ago. Her cell phone was only part of it.

“Aw, buddy, I already told ya. She came back just for ME.”

He barely has time to look confused before my blasters let loose. He doesn't have enough strength left to teleport. He has to dodge, and he's right where I need him.

I smirk, and clasp my outstretched skeleton hand closed.

Gaster stops worrying about the fight and clutches at his chest. He locks eye sockets with me. The bone attacks turn to dust and disappear into the void. The blasters diffuse and shrink back into the darkness. They aren’t needed anymore.

“Gotcha!” I grin. I pull my hand back sharply and he flies toward me through the air like he’s got a line attached to his chest. He hangs in the air, suspended, his face just inches from mine. His soul is glowing blue through his white lab coat. He’s terrified.

I plunge my sharp, bone hand into his chest.

“Guess who just got dunked on?” I grin lazily at him. He has no words. I rip out his soul and he starts to melt away like hot tar, dripping down into the void. I watch until the very last drop.

I look down at his soul beating in my hand. It’s turned back to a pure, pitch black. It’s neither monster, or human. Where did he come from?

_Nobody knows._

I shrug, thinking, what’s one more sin? I press the soul into my chest. My left eye stops burning me alive, but it hasn’t gone out. His magic belongs to me now.

His consciousness struggles for a bit, but in the end--

I win.

 

I pop back into existence in the Lab, standing in front of Frisk. The Machine is emitting two, brite red lasers from its tusks into her back. She’s screaming. I magic the lever up. The machine instantly stops, and I catch Frisk around her middle before she falls like a ragdoll to the floor. The machine couldn’t have been on for more than a second, but her determination is already almost gone. I look down into her face as her eyes roll back into her head. She stops moving and my insides freeze over

I’m too weak, and I fall to my knees with Frisk in my arms.

“Sans!!!!” Alphys yells, frightened. She runs over to us and places her shaking, scaley, yellow hands on Frisks body. I growl at her and she flinches away. I see the pure confusion and fear on her face, and I relax. She couldn’t have known. I never told her.

This is all my fault. I clutch Frisk’s limp body to my chest and look into Alphys’ harrowed face.

“Alphys, you gotta save her,” I beg her, and I begin to weep. I’ve never been in this much pain, and it has nothing to do with magic.

“She’s all I got, Alphys. She’s all I got in the whole wide world.” I hide my face in Frisk’s neck. She smells like rain drying up under a hot summer sun. Alphys places her hand on my skull. I’m shaking from head to foot.

“She’s s-still alive, Sans.” She’s right. I can feel her pulse against my face, but it’s too faint.

“You gotta save her,” I choke out. I hold Frisk’s body closer. I’m going to lose her, for good this time.

_She’s my girl..._

“I’ll do my best.” Alphys promises resolutely.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think Sans just won thanks to a hangover.


	25. ANTICIPATION

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Are you ready to have a good time? ;)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The longest chapter in all the land.

I stand on the red X under the machine and look back at Alphys. The machine’s metal tusks are glowing an angry red and the room is filled with a loud whirring sound. 

“This ok?” I call. 

“Perfect! Alright, the machine has about two minutes until go. I’m going to pull the lever as soon as I can, but I’ll count down from three so you’ll be ready! Don’t move!” she squawks. 

I turn back around and stare at the opposite wall. My heart is beating as hard as it can in my chest. I look down at myself and wonder, 

_Can I do this?_

I look back up and set my jaw. I see all of their faces flash before my eyes. All of the friends I've made down here, through every timeline. I’m doing this to free them. I’m doing this for the fate of the Underground. 

_I’m doing this for Sans._

I acknowledge that truth, and I come to terms with it. I don’t give a shit what happens to me, my friends, or any of the monsters in the Underground. All I really care about is what happens to that short, annoying, angry, infuriating, lying, stupid, fucked up skeleton. I’d stay under this mountain forever if it meant I could stay with him. 

“One minute!!! If you want to back out of this, now would be the time!” Alphys calls over the rumble of the machine. I don’t look back and she doesn’t say anything else until, 

“THREE!” 

I close my eyes and try to imagine what it felt like when he kissed me for the first time. 

“TWO!!” 

It crosses my mind that he doesn’t look quite right without his blue hoodie. Maybe if we all get out of here, I can find one just like it. 

“ONE!!” 

And that’s when the pain starts. My eyes fly open and I’m frozen where I stand. It feels like two giant, razor sharp claws have pierced me clean through and are clawing at my insides, trying to tear out my soul. 

_I’ve felt this pain before!_

I struggle against it, trying to raise a shield around my soul. But the machine is too strong, and I’ll be dead in a heartbeat. 

Sans falls out of the void and stumbles to a halt in front of me. His clothes are torn, burnt and charred and hanging haphazardly from his body. His left eye is flaming and flashing brighter than I’ve ever seen. He raises his arm and his skeleton hand is wrapped in wild blue flames. 

The pain stops and I fall like a stone because I can’t feel my body. He catches me, barely, and looks down into my face. 

I’ve seen him look at me like _that_ before. Oh, my poor little skeleton.

Before I black out, I feel my soul shatter into tiny little pieces. 

_But it refused!_

\---

 _“_ It has been brought to my attention,” Asgore begins in his deep, thunderous voice, which echoes ominously off the ceiling and walls of the throne room. My eyes flick hatefully toward his son standing beside him. He's sneering at me smugly, the little snitch. 

“...that the two of you have endangered the life of the human--” 

“My _child!_ ” Toriel says lethally. Her eyes are glowing a deep, ruby red as she looks down upon us. She stands beside Asgore’s throne instead of sitting in hers. She never did feel like she belonged there. She prefers big, comfy armchairs.

“And have stolen Determination from her soul.” He furrows his brows, and his deep socketed eyes become shadowed. I know I'm stronger than this guy, but that doesn't make him any less intimidating.

“Th-that's n-n-not true!!!” Alphys speaks up. I'm impressed at her courage. 

“This is my fault. I don't want Alphys taking any blame,” I say firmly. My eyes flick again over to the goat prince standing beside his father’s throne. I'm actually surprised he would hold it against her. If it hadn't been for me, Alphys wouldn't have created Flowey in the first place. 

“I'm the one who modified and built the machine!” Alphys argues, looking annoyed. 

“Yea, but you wouldn't have built it if I hadn't given you the formula.” I can't believe she's fighting with me over who's fault it is that Frisk almost died. 

“Frisk knew what she was doing.” Undyne puts in. She's leaning against the wall, watching us as we stand before the King and Queen. I see Alphys look her way hopefully, but Undyne frowns stubbornly and ignores her. They still haven't made up. 

“Frisk doesn't know anything!” Asriel chimes in furiously. He's baring his fangs at me. Be careful little goat boy. Don't wanna spill the beans. 

“Will she live?” Toriel interrupts. She’s so worried about Frisk she forgot to be mad. That makes me feel even worse. 

“Her d-determination is replenishing itself, b-but very s-slowly!” Alphys squeaks out. She’s shaking with anxiety under all this attention. 

“It’ll take a few weeks, but she’ll be back to her old self in no time,” I assure Toriel. Her eyes light up, and she looks so relieved...and terribly sad. 

“It is obvious that you two are a danger to Frisk,” She says somberly. 

“I have to agree,” the King says stoically. There’s a moment of silence as he studies the two of us from his ornate throne. Birds begin chirping somewhere in the distance. Finally, he sits forward and grips the arms of his throne. 

“It is my wish that, once she has fully healed, the lab be shut down. I will find you both different occupations. Alphys will restore her to full health, under supervision, but after that neither of you are to interact with her again.”

My left eye ignites with a loud, static _zap!_ I bark out a laugh and the birds stop singing. 

“That ain't gonna happen, buddy,” I say, frowning. 

His nostrils flare at my insolence. 

“You think there aren't ways to keep you away from her?” Asriel seethes, stepping forward. 

“I would seriously enjoy watching you try,” I grin at him maliciously. 

“But I think you're forgetting one very important thing.” I look back at Asgore. 

“And what's that?” He asks, leaning back in his throne to give me an appraising look. 

“Frisk won’t like it. You really think she’s just going to let you control her life? You aren’t actually her father, you know that right?” I raise my brows at him. 

He stands up and glowers down at me. Alright, maybe I took that one too far, but he’s really pissing me off.

“Come on, this is Frisk we’re talking about. She _always_ gets her way.” I smirk and reminisce.

“Yea, and I'll never stop being her friend! Even if she doesn't want to be friends with me!” Alphys says confidently, slamming her fist into her hand. She doesn't notice Undyne watching her with an uncharacteristically soft expression on her face. 

“They have a point, dear,” Toriel says quietly.

“Are you challenging me, then?” Asgore ignores her and addresses me, sounding both menacing and bummed out. He grips his trident beneath his cape and waits for my answer. 

“Nah. I’m straight up defying you, your majesty,” I smile up at him. He growls and his eyes flash blue and orange. He throws back his cape to reveal his trident. I reach out, grasp Alphys’ arm and teleport us out of the castle and into the Lab. We look over and stare blankly at each other for a few seconds. 

“You IDIOT!” she shrieks at me, putting her hands on her head. 

“I’m sorry!” I don’t know what the fuck I was thinking. 

“You just defied the king!!!” her hands grip the sides of her glasses. 

“He had it comin!” I growl apologetically. She throws her hands out to the sides and shakes them around frantically. 

“Now we’re fugitives!” Her eyes cross behind her glasses, and she puffs out her cheeks. Maybe I'm reading her wrong, but I think she might be a little excited about the prospect of us running from the authorities together. 

“Hey, Alph, you got this place armed to the t, right?” I raise a brow at her. She freezes and looks at me like I just grew a tree from each ear. 

“How did you know that???” she demands, her face twitching. 

“I gained...some memories…” I shrug uncomfortably. 

“Oh.” Her eyes flick down at my mouth for a split second. I pretend not to notice and look down at the ground. She shifts her weight from one foot to the other. I told her I defeated him, but we haven’t spoken of it in detail. Neither of us likes the subject. 

“Yes, the Lab is still capable of protecting itself. All I have to do is push a button.” She eyes me with an oddly brash expression on her face. 

“How long do ya think we can hold out down here?” I ask, smirking at her. 

“Weeks. Four at least.” She smiles and her nose crinkles. She’s totally all for this. 

I use my magic to search out Asgore, and sure enough he’s almost here, along with Asriel. They can’t teleport, but powerful monsters like that are fast as fuck. 

“Well, I guess you better push that button,” I smile. 

“Hey, I’m still in charge!” She gets a little defensive. 

“Whatever you say, hun,” I shrug in defeat. She flashes me a toothy smile before running off to the control room, a few doors down. 

\---

I wake up in the dark and I’m terrified. I don’t know where I am. I’m so weak I can’t lift my head or my arms. I’m frozen, on my back, on a bed. 

Oh, but someone is holding my hand. I’m not alone. 

“Sans?” I call out. My voice is barely above a whisper and it hurts to swallow. 

“Hey there, kid.” Sans greets me in a quiet, soothing voice. His eye sockets open and the little lights inside cast a glow on the sheets where his head is resting. As my eyes adjust I see that he’s sitting in a chair and was sleeping with his head and torso on the bed. He squeezes my hand. 

“You ok?” He asks sleepily, sitting up to lean over me. I look around, barely able to move my head, at the room I can almost make out. We’re in the lab, in that small room filled with whirring machines, beeping softly every now and then. Several wires run from each machine and are attached to my body. Little yellow and red and green lights give the room an eery glow. There’s an IV in my arm and glowing blue liquid is flowing through the tube into my veins. I look back up into his face and see that he’s watching me with avid concern. 

“What happened?” I don’t understand why I feel like this or why I’m in this bed. I don’t remember…

“You almost died on me, you little brat. If that machine was on for even one more second…” he leans over and rests his skull on my stomach. He looks at me with those little lights, and they blur through tears. I want to reach up and place my hand on his skull, but I’m too weak. 

The machine, that pain, it all comes back in a rush. I hold onto his hand as tight as I can, which takes all of my strength. 

“Sans, when the machine was on--I remembered, I’ve felt that pain before!” I start to panic and one of the machines beeps faster. He stands up and leans over me, placing his hands gently on each side of my face. 

“Shhh, I know, kid, I know. Ain’t nobody gonna hurt you ever again.” he murmurs, resting his forehead against mine. The lights in his eyes are big and round and glowing softly. I focus on his breathing until my heartbeat slows down. 

“You know?” I ask. He pulls back and searches my face for a few moments. 

“Your determination. I’ve seen it before.” His face falls and he looks...heartbroken. 

“Baby, there’s something I gotta tell you…” He lets his hands fall away from my face and breaks eye contact. He sits back down in the chair and rests his head in his hands. I can feel the sadness seeping from his bones. He looks so lonely, sitting there, hunched over. I don’t want him to be in pain anymore. 

“You don’t have to tell me yet,” I rasp. I reach out to him, but my arm flops back down on the bed. I need to be touching him. I need him close. 

“Just don’t leave me, ok?” I beg. That machine starts beeping faster again. He lifts his head and looks me straight in the eyes. 

“Never, kiddo.” He promises. He’s got no reservations about that one. He picks up my hand and brings it to his face. My shaking fingers feel the scar over his left eye socket. 

“You teleported!” I exclaim, just realizing now that he's touching me and we aren't in danger. He looks down at me with a happy, groggy expression. 

“Yea, I did.” He grins. It’s dark in here, but I could swear his teeth look sharper than usual. 

“What happened? Are you ok??” I ask. 

“I’m fine, baby.” He kisses my palm. “I won.” 

“You won??? How?” 

“I got ‘im.” He makes a grabbing motion in the air with his free hand. His eyes flash brighter at the memory, and he looks a little scary for a moment. 

“You absorbed him??” I assume, amazed. 

“Yup.” He leans back in his chair and looks smug. Tired and exhausted, but smug. I feel so proud of him I could burst, but there’s also a pang of guilt tied up in there somewhere. I was so hellbent on saving him, I could have hurt him even more. 

“But you’re ok?” I ask again. I don’t know how to ask what I’m really wondering. What happens when a monster absorbs the soul of a...whatever Gaster was? Is he still my Sans? 

He seems to know what I’m asking. He gives me a knowing little smile and my entire body feels warm and tingly. I know there’s MM pumping through my veins, but nothing compares to when he smiles for real.

“Well, he got a few hits on me...so I might have some of his annoying qualities. But I’m still me.” He winks and squeezes my hand. His warm, rough, bone fingers still feel the same. And his voice doesn’t have a rasp to it anymore. 

“Let me feel your heartbeat,” I say, blushing. I need to make sure. He complies and presses my hand against his ribcage. His shirt is soft and the bones beneath hard. I can feel his heartbeat against my palm. I look into those christmas light eyes, and I’m certain this skeleton is still the same one I fell in love with all those timelines ago. 

“So...does that mean...we can…” I blush. His entire face lights up with mischief, and his left eye sparks into it’s socket with a tiny _pop!_ He leans over and puts his face so close to mine that I can feel his warm breath on my mouth.

“ _Without_ the ketchup.” He quirks and kisses me gently. The heart monitor races. He pulls back, chuckling softly, and there’s a happiness in those sockets that I haven’t seen before.

“Sleep next to me?” I offer. He looks relieved. I wonder how many nights he’s been sleeping in that chair? He pulls the sheets back and climbs in, carefully ducking under and avoiding the many wires running from my body. He gently rolls me onto my side and his warm, solid, skeleton body presses into my back. He wraps his arm around my middle and holds me to him. He’s not wearing a jacket, and his white, bone arms are exposed. Even in this dark room, they stand out as if they almost have a light of their own. 

I sigh happily. I’m weak, I have a million questions, some new memories to deal with, I don’t know what the fuck is going to happen next, but he’s holding me. He’s wrapped around me, and I’m so happy I could float away. I just want us to stay like this forever.

“We gotta talk eventually, though, Frisk.” He says softly in my ear. I can hear the fear in his voice. He thinks whatever he’s got to tell me will turn me away from him. 

“I just almost died for you, you stupid skeleton. I don’t care what you’ve done, I’m not letting you get away from me ever again.” I’m half joking, but there are tears in my voice. He tightens his arm around me and nuzzles his face into my neck. 

“You know they tried to keep me away from you?” he says. His breath tickles my skin, and I can hear the smirk on his face. 

“I bet they had a bad time.” I giggle. He chuckles evilly in agreement. 

“Go to sleep, now, kid. I’ll be here when you wake up.” He murmurs against my neck. 

I smile and drift off to the sound of his deep, steady breathing. 

“You should have told me the moment she woke up!” 

I’m ripped from peaceful slumber by the sound of Alphys’ shrill, nasally voice. I am instantly aware that Sans is no longer wrapped around me, and this bed is cold and uncomfortable.

“Relax, Alph, she’s fine,” Sans drawls lazily. I open my eyes to see him reclining in that chair with his feet on the bed, those nasty pink slippers on the clean white sheets. Alphys is leaning over me, fussing with the wires and checking the IV in my arm. She notices I’m awake and pulls what looks like a pen from her pocket protector. She clicks it and a bright light shines from the end, which she shines into my open eyes without warning. Instant headache. 

“Fuck, stop!” I groan and I push her hand away. 

“See, I told you, she’s fine. She wasn’t even strong enough to do that last night.” Sans grins at me, like he’s proud. My eyes are drawn to his mouth for some reason, something about his teeth. He notices and stops grinning. He’s still smirking happily at me, though. 

“How long have I been in here?” I ask. I want to sit up, but my body isn’t quite ready for that. 

“Eight days,” Alphys answers distractedly. She’s scurrying around to all the machines I’m still attached to, studying their blinking screens and randomly pushing buttons. 

“Your Determination levels are still growing steadily.” She nods to herself, looking pleased. 

“I’m guessing the machine wasn’t supposed to do that?” I smirk. She freezes and looks at Sans. I let my gaze follow hers. He’s looking at me with empty, inky black eye sockets. 

“That’s exactly what it was meant to do. Alphys didn’t know. I never told her,” he says in a deadpan voice. The room suddenly feels very cold. 

“But...it worked, didn’t it?” I ask shakily. Scary Sans is even scarier now. 

“Y-yes!” Alphys squeaks. She won’t look at Sans. 

“So...can you use my determination or what?” I address him. I refuse to look away. 

“There was no way to use it in the first place. I lied,” he admits. I don’t know how, but I can tell he’s not looking at me.

“B-but I think he’s wrong! I think we can use it!” Alphys says angrily. He pierces her with his empty stare instead. 

“We’re not using it for anything,” he states, a low growl in his voice. 

“Wait, wait, wait, isn’t that up to me?” I snap at him. The lights come back into his eyes, and he stares at me oddly. He leans back in his chair again. He grins at me, and I’m certain this time that he’s gained some extra fangs, and a few of his front teeth might be a little sharper now too. I make sure not to let my eyes look down, though. He must be self conscious about it. I know he must have gotten them from fighting Gaster, but…they look good. I feel myself blushing, and Sans’ grin gets wider. 

“Whatever you say, babe,” he winks. The room grows warmer. 

Alphys visibly relaxes and returns to messing with her machines. I look away from Sans, unable to keep eye contact with that look he’s giving me. 

“Why do you think you can use it?” I ask Alphys. I can still feel him staring at me, but I ignore him. Now is not the time for flirting. 

“Sans has informed me that injecting Determination into fallen monsters does not work. How he knows this, he won’t tell me.” She shoots him a frustrated look, and he stares back blankly. I try and pretend like I don’t know anything either. 

“But I’ve examined the Determination the machine extracted from your soul and...w-well...your Determination...it uh…it’s um...” She stops what she’s doing and looks at me for a few seconds, then shifts her gaze to Sans. He gives her a little nod and she looks back at me, considerably more nervous. I look between both of them, suspicious. 

“What??” I demand. The heart monitor speeds up and I glare at it angrily. 

“Your determination isn’t...human,” she says, watching my face carefully. The beeping gets faster. I look over at Sans, and he’s studying me in quite the same way as Alphys. It’s like they are both expecting me to have answers for them. 

“What the fuck does that mean??” I snap at them. They both look decidedly disappointed that I don’t have any idea what they’re talking about. Now I’m annoyed. Sans sees the look on my face and rushes to explain. 

“Determination can only be found in a human soul, so you’re definitely human,” he assures me, but he doesn’t look totally convinced of that himself. 

“But I’ve never seen Determination with these properties before!” Alphys interrupts. Something about that statement doesn’t seem right, but I can’t figure out what. 

“What properties??” I am SO confused. 

“ And, I’ve examined your soul, as best I can, and based on the results of the tests I was able to run,” Alphys rushes on, excited, 

“Frisk, I think, it’s possible that you’re--and I have no idea how it’s possible, it shouldn’t be possible--” She starts rambling to herself. 

“WHAT??” I shout at her. The beeping of the heart monitor is driving me crazy. I reach up my shirt, which is that same violent pink anime pajama shirt of Alphys’, and rip the sticky pad off my chest. The beeping stops and we all fall silent. Alphys seems too nervous to speak now, so I focus on Sans. He reaches out and grabs my hand. 

“You’re part monster, kiddo,” Sans says softly, the little lights in his eyes flashing brighter for a moment. 

Part monster? 

“Is that even possible?” 

“I've never heard of it before, but I'm almost certain you are. You had no idea?” Alphys asks outright. I shake my head at her, and she looks at me like she doesn't quite believe me. 

I suddenly feel very dizzy. I grip Sans’ hand and hold on, because that ball of panic is crawling up my throat again. I try to breathe, but it’s as though the oxygen in the room has been sucked away. 

“You ok, kiddo?” he asks, but his voice sounds so far away. I close my eyes and pictures begin to flash behind my eyelids. 

“Don’t let go of me!” I beg frantically. I feel his hand squeeze mine, and he lays his other hand on my forehead. The hand holding mine is warm, and the hand on my face is cold. 

“I’m not goin’ anywhere, sweety,” he says, and this time his voice is in my head. 

_Part monster…_

“He’s going to get me,” I whisper, terrified. 

“Nope. Not gonna happen. He’s gone forever. I promise,” Sans says confidently. 

“He’s going to make me reset. I didn’t find what he was looking for,” I see him there, in the dungeon, tall and sinister in his white lab coat. 

“Not this time, babe,” Sans runs his fingers through my hair. “Not ever again.” 

“What’s she talking about?” Alphys asks. Her sharp, nasally voice breaks through my panic. I don’t think she could hear what Sans was saying in my head. I breathe slowly in and out and eventually the images stop popping into my mind. I open my eyes and Sans is right there, so close that my eyes cross when they try to focus on his face. 

“I don’t want to talk about this anymore,” I whisper, tears stinging my eyes. My entire body is shaking. 

“Ok,” he nods, gliding his fingers gently through my hair. My scalp tingles pleasantly where his sharp fingertips touch. The lights in his eyes are big and round and glowing softly. 

Alphys clears her throat awkwardly and the spell is broken. 

“I’ll just...I’ll just leave you two alone,” she mumbles, clearly flustered. Her fanfiction is coming to life right before her eyes. She bustles from the room and closes the door sharply. 

“Like she isn’t about to go watch us on her monitors,” I smirk up at Sans. He lets out a soft, real laugh and kisses me quickly on the lips. As he pulls away, I can’t help but notice the anxiety on his face. Whatever it is he needs to say to me, it’s eating him up inside. He opens his mouth to say something, but I shake my head. 

“Not today,” I say, running my hand up his rough, bone arm. He still isn’t wearing a jacket, which I suppose isn’t that unusual, but he never seems comfortable unless he’s covered up. He looks down at my hand and then back into my face. I’ve made him blush a light blue. 

“But, Frisk, you need to know--” 

I can feel that horrible, empty sadness in his bones again. 

“Not yet,” I say firmly. I reach my arms out to him. His eye sockets widen and those little lights blur with tears. He sighs and crawls onto the bed, not bothering about the wires attached to me. He plops his entire weight on top of me, carefully avoiding the IV in my arm, and buries his face in my neck. I wasn’t expecting that, but I’m not complaining. 

“You're squishing me.” I giggle and poke him in the ribs. He's surprisingly heavy for a skeleton. He chuckles and tickles me, his sharp bone fingers digging into my sides. I let out a squeak and squirm beneath him. He relents and nuzzles into my neck. 

“You smell really nice,” he says goofily. He obviously doesn't plan to move off me any time soon. I trace my fingers over his skull and down the bones of his neck. He hums appreciatively, contented, for now. 

“I seriously doubt that. I apparently haven't showered in eight days,” I grimace at the thought. 

“Even better,” he laughs and his ribs dig into me. He hasn't laughed so often since I've known him. I feel so warm, right down to my bones. 

“I like your teeth,” I say quietly, and I'm glad he can't see my face right now. His body stiffens for a second, but then he relaxes. 

“Heh, I bet you do,” He says devilishly. He gives my neck a little nip, and I immediately grip the back of his shirt. I'm really glad that heart monitor isn't still connected to me. 

“Woah there, kitty, let's not give Alphys a show,” he teases me, his voice extra low. Fuck, he's killing me! 

“I say we kinda owe her,” I shrug, running my hands up his back. He lets out a hot breath that tickles my ear. 

“Seriously though, she has cameras everywhere,” he says, grabbing my hands and pinning them to my sides. 

“Plus, you're like, barely alive. You'll need full strength for THAT battle,” he chuckles evilly and bites down on my neck again, a bit harder. 

“Ouch!” I say, annoyed, but also, really super ok with it. He props himself up on his elbows and looks down at me with a lopsided smirk. His eye sockets are lidded and those lights are big and bright, taking up most of the inky black. 

“Did ya know that you're the prettiest girl in the whole world?” He asks sincerely. He tangles his hands in my hair and just looks down at me, like he's trying to memorize my face. I gape up at him, speechless. 

“You haven't met every girl in the world,” I reason breathlessly. Why is he doing this to me now?? We really can't fuck here, because Alphys would definitely be watching. I remember that page of fanfiction I saw and this is not too far from it. 

“Don't need to.” He shakes his head stubbornly. He hangs his head down to kiss me. I feel the heat from his left eye on my face as it sparks into its socket with a small crackling sound,and that static, wet, warm tongue of his caresses my lips. 

“Uhn,” I let out a little moan. This is just fucking cruel. He lifts his head and looks smugly down at me. 

“Guess we've hit the limit, eh?” 

“Fuck you,” I frown at him. 

“Eventually, yea, I hope so,” He smiles and I get a full look at his extra fangs. He still has those cute, dull looking little canines, but a few teeth on either side behind those are now longer, sharper fangs, and two or three of his front teeth look a bit jagged. Holy shit. Why do I like that so much??? 

“You’re the cutest boy I’ve ever met,” I reach up and run my finger down the bridge of his nose, or you know, lack thereof. His eyes narrow for just moment, and then he grins. 

“I’m guessin’ you haven’t met a lot of boys,” his blue tongue sticks out between his sharp teeth. He’s never been good at accepting compliments. He snuggles his face back into my neck and begins to breathe deeply. 

“Are you gonna fall asleep on me?” I poke him in the ribs and he grunts in disapproval. 

“Maybe I am. It's hard work, keeping you alive,” He says mock grumpily. 

“That’s so unfair,” I huff. He chuckles deep in his chest.

“Consider it payback, babe,” he murmurs happily. 

“You’re such an asshole,” I gripe, but I’m smiling. 

“Sure am. Now shuttup, I’m tired,” he grumbles, adjusting his body on top of me to get more comfortable. 

“You can sleep on me forever, if you want.” I say softly, tracing my fingers across the bones of his back. 

“That's my girl,” he says sleepily. I wonder if he knows what that does to me. I listen to his breathing until he does indeed fall asleep. God. He gets sleepy at the WORST times. I lay there for a while, feeling his heart beat against me until I drift off too. 

I wake up to a loud scoffing sound. My eyes flicker open, and I’m met with the sight of probably my least favorite person in the Underground. 

“Oh, you’re awake,” Mettatton sneers down at me. He’s standing next to my bed, crossing his arms. He’s got this look on his face like he’s smelling something foul. I haven’t showered for eight days (maybe nine now?) so I can’t really blame him. 

“Where’s Sans?” I ask unhappily. It’s so cold in this bed without him. Mettaton huffs and flips his hair out of his face. 

“Yes, I bet you think you two are back together, don’t you?” He says venomously. I am so not in the mood for this robot’s bullshit. 

“Go away,” I groan. I realize my body feels stronger than it has yet, and I start to sit up. Mettaton quickly steps closer and pins me back to the bed with one hand on my chest. 

“You listen here, you little hussy,” he hisses down at me, his face twisted in an ugly grimace. 

“Sans has been on my radar since day one, and a stupid little human like you isn’t about to swoop in and snatch him up. You gave him up for prince charming, you can’t have him back just because he’s part Gaster now.” 

Normally, I don’t like confrontation, and this situation would have had me panicking, but I’ve been through too much shit to care about an angry robot. 

“He’s not part Gaster now, he’s still Sans. And he’s never going to be with you, because he fucking loves me,” I snap up at him, grabbing his arm and trying to pry it off my chest. He increases the pressure and I stop struggling. He’s too fucking strong. 

“He’s NOT the same Sans. He’s different, and I bet you like that better, don’t you? You like that he’s more powerful, and sexier, and taller,” he gets this expression on his face like he’s forgotten that we’re arguing and is just imagining Sans doing terrible things to him. Something green and angry roars inside of me, and I feel my magic building up in my soul. 

“Listen up, BITCH!” I shout. Something alive rushes through my body and a bright, blue light pulses from my soul. Mettaton is thrown from me and skids to a stop a few feet away. 

“What the hell??” He narrows his eyes at me and takes up a defensive stance. I start ripping the sticky pads with the wires from my body, and I swing my legs out of the bed. I stand up and grip the IV stand for support, bringing it with me as I step slowly toward Mettaton.

“Sans is MY little skeleton monster,” I seethe at him, fully aware that I probably resemble Chara right now, and he backs up a step. 

“And if you fucking TOUCH him, I swear to GOD, I will open you up and rip every wire to shreds!” I gather up enough saliva in my mouth to spit on the floor at his feet. He stares, open mouthed at me for a full ten seconds. Suddenly he steps up to me and grasps my chin in his metal fingers. 

“Oh my...nobody’s ever talked to me like THAT before,” he purrs, his face as close to mine as it can be without touching me. I’m caught off guard. 

“I think I see now why he’s so taken with you,” he traces his hand down my neck and collarbone, all the while fluttering his lashes at me. 

“Oh no…” I breathe. This is the last thing I wanted. 

“Oh yes,” he smiles down at me. He kisses me on the nose and whirls around to walk out the door. He pops his head back into the room and says,

“By the way, darling, there’s something you should see on the farthest right, down the stairs.” and then he’s gone. I’m left standing there in Alphys’ ridiculous pajama shirt and no pants, clutching the IV stand to stay up. 

_What the fuck just happened?_

I back up to sit down on the bed. What did he say? On the farthest right, down the stairs? The hell does that mean? What do I need to see? I’m not strong enough to go exploring this place. Not yet, anyways. And I’m not sure I want to, this lab still gives me the creeps. 

I shiver in this cold, sterile room. The machines are still whirring softly, but nothing is beeping now that I’m not attached to anything. It’s so lonely in here. Where IS Sans? I look around the room from where I’m sitting, searching for something I can put on over this shirt. I’ve got underwear on, and this shirt is long on me, but if I’m about to go out into the Lab, I’m not going pantsless. 

_Wait, I thought I just decided I was too weak to go exploring?_

“Yea, but I’m Frisk. That’s what I do.” I say out loud to nobody. Besides, I need to find Sans, or Alphys. I should tell them what just happened. I think I just used magic. That’s important enough to get out of bed, right? 

“Right,” I tell myself. I see one of Alphys lab coats hanging from a hook by the door, and I make my way over to it. I’m shaky, and exhausted, but determined. I go to pull on the coat, but my arm is still attached to the IV. I can’t bring this stand with me through the lab. I hold out my arm and peel off the tape holding the needle down. 

“It’s just a needle...in my skin…” I give myself a pep talk before I ease the needle out. Once it’s out I feel kind of nauseous, but I grab onto the IV stand and breathe slowly until the spinning stops. I let go of the stand when I’m sure I can stay up, and I hold my finger over the spot where the needle was in me for a while to stop any bleeding. 

I pull on the coat and wrap it around me. It’s far too big, but at least my legs aren’t exposed. I step barefooted out of the room and into the hallway. I immediately head right, even though I was supposed to be out here looking for Sans or Alphys. As I shuffle down the hallway, it crosses my mind that I haven’t seen my mom or any of my other friends since I’ve woken up. Aren’t they worried about me? 

I hear a noise from somewhere else in this vast Lab. That’s probably someone I’m supposed to be looking for, so why am I still heading right, away from them? 

“The farthest right, down the stairs,” I whisper to myself, and even that quiet of voice echoes slightly. I’m already losing my courage. It’s bright and empty and clean down here, but in my head I’m still seeing it how it was in the old timelines. For instance, this is where those refrigerators filled with unknown specimens used to be. I STILL have no idea what was in those petri dishes. 

Suddenly something Alphys said earlier pops into my mind. She said she’d never seen Determination like mine before...that it wasn’t human. But, this is the fixed timeline, where no other humans fell down here except me. So...how would she know what human Determination looks like? 

The hairs on the back of my neck stand up, and I look back where I came from. The feeling that someone is watching me is so strong that I want to book it back to my room, but I turn forward and shuffle on. I reach the farthest right that I can go, and to my left is a door. I open it and see a flight of stairs leading down into the basement of the Lab. I’ve been down there before. I climb down the stairs and I’m disappointed. 

There’s nothing new in here. There’s still just a switch that activates the elevator to the Core. 

“Fucking Mettaton.” I huff. Was he just messing with me? Somehow, I know he wasn’t. There’s something in this room that I’m not seeing. I walk up to the switch and, just to see what happens, I push it. Nothing happens. I furrow my brow and run my hands along the walls. I feel that alive, rushing power pulse through my body again, and a blue light flashes from my hand into the wall. I watch in awe as blue magic spreads along the wall, like it’s searching for something. I follow it until it stops and manifests in a perfect square on a space of wall, just above my head. I reach up and place my hand in the square, and it pushes in, like a hidden button. 

I swivel my head around as a hidden door opens on the opposite wall. Holy shit. I just found a secret! My adrenaline is pumping and my feet are in charge now. I let them take me across the room and into the next. I stop and look around me in confusion. 

“What the fuck?” There’s a long desk in the middle of the room. Strewn over the desk and floor are random items that used to belong to me. Or, they still do, and I’d given them up as lost. I have to step very carefully, because all over the ground are pieces of shattered glass. I assume they came from the remains of glass cases standing atop metal pedestals along the left wall. On the far side of the room is a large, ominous, rectangular something underneath a vast white sheet. 

_This is what he was looking for._

I’m sure of it. I watch the ground carefully to make sure I don’t step on any glass, and make my way steadily toward the mysterious object. The closer I get, the faster my heart pounds in my chest. I get a few feet from it and stop. I stand there, shaking, staring at the white sheet. I step closer and reach out--

“So, ya finally found it,” Sans says behind me. It’s suddenly freezing in here. 

I whirl around to face him. He standing there, leaning against the desk, his hands in his pants pockets. The lights in his eyes are gone, but he’s not looking at me. A cold wind blows through me, and I feel so empty and alone. 

“Sans?” my voice is small and barely above a whisper. I’m shaking so violently that I have to clench my teeth to keep them from chattering. 

“Why is my stuff in here?” I ask, trying to speak up. 

“I was studying you. I knew there was something about you, even in the first timeline,” he looks disgusted with himself. I watch him, not sure what to say. 

“Go ahead. Look at it.” he nods toward the large, mysterious object beneath the sheet behind me. 

“W-what is it?” I shiver. He bows his head. 

“You’ll see.” his voice is just as empty as the void. I turn away from him to reach out and grasp the white sheet. After a few heartbeats, I pull as hard as I can and the sheet comes tumbling down. It floats like a ghost to the smooth, dusty floor, and a large metal machine is revealed. Something about it is horribly familiar. 

There’s a loud ringing in my ears, and I feel like I’ve suddenly entered a dream. I reach out a shaking hand and place my palm against the smooth, shining, cold metal surface. A sense of absolute terror grips at my soul and I pull away from the machine like I’ve been burned. 

“I’ve been inside it before,” I breathe. I can’t stand up anymore, so I sink to the ground. I fold my legs beneath me and rest my head in my hands, my elbows propped on my knees. Sans pops into existence next to me and sits on the floor. He stares at the machine and doesn’t say anything for a while. 

“I know you have,” he finally says. I look over at him, but he’s still not looking at me. 

“What do you mean?” 

He looks down at his skeleton hands and flexes his fingers. 

“When I absorbed him, my consciousness combined with his for a few seconds. I gained some memories. Only a few, but one of them was of you.” I notice that his hands are shaking. I want to reach out and touch him, but I don’t feel like that’s the right thing to do right now. I keep silent and wait for him to continue speaking. 

“You were just a child. You were traveling through time with him, he was powering the machine with your Determination. You got away somehow, and you were thrown from the machine, but not before he fused a piece of his soul to yours.” 

I instinctively pull the lab coat around me, shielding my soul with my hands. I remember. I was hooked up to the machine, and it was ripping Determination from my soul. It was so painful, exactly the same pain as I felt just eight days ago. 

“Alphys used parts from it, didn’t she?” I stare up at the machine. He nods solemnly beside me. 

“There was still some of your Determination left in there when I repaired it,” he says. His bone hands curl into fists and his jaw clenches. His entire body is shaking now. I know I should let him keep talking, but he’s not ready to tell me yet. I’ll let him put it off a little while longer.

“Sans, do you want to know why I climbed the mountain?” I say very quietly. His head snaps around to look at me. Those little lights are back in their places. He’s still shaking, but the room has grown considerably warmer. He doesn’t say a word, just waits silently, sitting there on the cold, smooth floor. I take a deep breath and stare down at my hands.

“The first time. The very first time I climbed the mountain...wasn’t for a very nice reason.” That empty, lonely feeling starts clawing at my insides, but I keep going. 

“I was never happy. Not really. Even as a child, I remember feeling like something was terribly wrong and I couldn’t fix it. I tried so hard to be normal, to have friends, to grow up, to be an adult,” I bring my knees up to my chest and wrap my arms around them. Sans hasn’t moved an inch. It’s like he’s frozen in place. 

“But eventually...I got tired of...pretending...so I…” I shut my eyes and shake my head, unable to say it out loud. Sans reaches out and pulls me into his lap, as though I don't weigh anything at all. He doesn’t say anything, just wraps his arms around my middle and holds me to him. I lean back against him and grip his rough, bone arms for strength. 

“They found me before I bled out. I went to live with my sister. They put me on a bunch of different drugs, but nothing seemed to help. The night I climbed the mountain, I was going to do it again, and do it right,” He holds me tighter and buries his face in the crook of my shoulder. 

“But I didn’t do it. I was about to back away from the edge, but something pushed me over, and I fell.”

“Something pushed you??” he asks, lifting his head. 

“Not physically. I guess it was more like being pulled. It must have been him,” I shiver, even though Sans’ warmth surrounds me. 

“Are you sure?” 

“Yes. Because in the timelines after that, my cell phone would ring, and I’d be there in the void with him. He kept making me climb the mountain. He kept making me reset,” I cringe, remembering how I ripped everyone from happiness each time. 

“Yea, I figured that out while I was fighting him. He said I couldn’t destroy him without killing you. He got you into my room. He kept bringing you to the Lab. He was looking for this.” He’s clinging to me like he’s afraid I’ll disappear. 

“Is he still in my soul, then?” I look down at my chest, horrified. 

“No. When I absorbed your soul in the old timeline, I think that piece of him stuck to me, like tar,” he sounds grossed out. I suddenly remember something and start rambling excitedly. 

“That’s right! My cell phone didn’t ring this time! I woke up and remembered, and I ran out of the house, because I had to get back to you! I came back--” 

“Just for me,” he finishes my sentence and hides his face in my neck. He starts crying quietly. I grow silent and hold very still. I reach up and place my hand against his skull. 

“Just for you.” I whisper, caressing his arm with my other hand. 

“You make me happy, Sans. You, and everyone else down here. Even when I didn’t have a soul, I was happier than I ever was on the surface. So I don’t mind the time I spent down here, even when it was horrible. Because I was with you.” 

He lets out a strangled sob and clutches me tighter. 

“I know you’ve got something awful to tell me, Sans, but I’m forbidding you to tell me yet, ok?” I give him an out. He nods his skull against me and I console him until he stops crying. 

\---

She won't let me tell her. I keep trying, but she keeps stoppin’ me. 

And every time I touch her, every time I look at her, I remember that I still gotta confess my sins. I won't be able to accept that she loves me until she knows. Because I don't love me, and I know. 

I watch as Alphys reattaches the machines to her, scolding us both for Frisk being out of bed. I don't see what the big deal is, she was just sitting on my lap in this chair. Alphys doesn't know about her finding my secret room. Well, secret isn't exactly the right word, because it turns out Alphys knew about it all along. That woman has cameras EVERYWHERE. 

“Guys, why hasn't anyone else come to visit me?” Frisk asks suspiciously. Alphys freezes and looks over at me. I wish she'd stop doing that. She's the one who’s supposed to be in charge. 

Jeez, I guess it's up to me to break it to the kid. I grin and scratch the back of my skull. She gives me a look like I'd better be out with it quick. 

“We ah, kinda sorta...might be hiding out down here,” I mumble sheepishly. 

“What do you mean, _hiding out?”_ She demands, sitting up. Alphys makes a noise of disapproval, and Frisk throws her a very Chara-esque glare. Alphys is not intimidated, and I'm actually impressed. 

“I kinda sorta defied the King,” I grimace at her. I'm not exactly proud of the fact, but I do feel cooler than I did before she knew. Ah shit, my face is gettin’ hot. 

“You did WHAT???” She gets up on her knees and grips the sheets on either side of her. She's looking at me like I'm crazy. And, maybe I'm biased, but I think she might be a little bit turned on by my recklessness. 

“I told you, he tried to keep me away from you.” I wink at her and she blushes. God dammit, why's she gotta be so cute? 

“So what, you're just gonna stay down here forever??” She scoffs at us both. 

“No! We were hoping to finish figuring out how to break the barrier using your determination,” Alphys pauses, catches the furious look I'm throwing her way and hurriedly corrects her statement. 

“ _I_ was hoping to use y-your determination.” She stares at me wide eyed behind her glasses. She still isn't quite sure what to make of me, knowing that I basically WAS Gaster for a few seconds after absorbing his soul. These new choppers don't exactly help either. 

“I think we might be able to go with the original plan. Maybe injecting a different human’s Determination wouldn't have worked, but you're part monster, so monster souls might be able to take your Determination.” She explains. 

She's told me this a few times, and I don't know if she's right or wrong. But in my experience, using Determination for anything, for any reason, has always turned out to be a bad time. 

“If we can convince the King that we've found a way to break the barrier, maybe he won't shut down the Lab, and maybe he won't ban us from seeing you.” Alphys says more to herself than Frisk. It's a haphazard plan, but it'll have to do. 

“I'm sorry, WHAT?! He said he was _banning_ you from seeing me?!?” Frisk stands up on the bed, outraged. The wires that Alphys was able to attach pop off her and fall helplessly to the ground. Alphys huffs, annoyed. 

“Who the hell does he think he is?? He's not _really_ my dad!!” She puts her hands on her hips. 

“That's what I said!” I grin up at her. She looks down at me sternly, like it's ok when she says it, but not when I do. 

“Take me to him,” she commands, looking haughtily down at me. She picks up Alphys’ old lab coat from the bed and shrugs it on again. Jeez, if he ain't her real dad, then why's she acting like a princess? 

“What?” I play dumb. 

“This is fucking ridiculous. We are not hiding from him like criminals, teleport me to him.” She's so angry her eyes begin to glow. 

“That's not a good idea,” Alphys whines anxiously. She keeps trying to get Frisk to sit back down, and Frisk keeps swatting her away distractedly. I smirk at them both. 

“What are you smiling about?!?” Frisk snaps at me. I give in. I can't help it, she's just so goddamn cute. 

“Alright, let's go,” I say, slowly getting up from my chair. 

“What?” She asks, suddenly suspicious. I reach my hand up to her and raise a brow. 

“Let's go! You wanna face the king, be my guest,” I wiggle my fingers at her impatiently. She looks down at my hand for a second and blushes. I feel my fangs poking into my lip as I smile even bigger. I know what just popped into her mind. 

Heh. Hehhehheh. 

She takes my hand and jumps down off the bed. I can't believe how fast she's regaining her strength. 

“Ready?” I ask her. She’s blushing up at me. 

_Yea, that's right, UP._

The one thing I didn't mind taking home from my fight with Gaster. I mean, I'm only a few inches taller than I was, but I can't pretend I don't like that she's gotta stand on her toes now if she wants to kiss me. And she wants to. Right now.

“Yes,” she nods decisively. Ever since she woke up yesterday, she's got this new confidence in herself that wasn't there before. I'm so proud of her. I love every inch of her. 

I lean down and kiss her. Alphys squeaks and faints, crumpling to the floor beside the bed. I pull away from Frisk, and we both stare down at her in mild shock. 

“Whoops, I forgot she was standing there,” I grimace down at her unconscious form. 

“She'll be fine,” Frisk says, but doesn't look super convinced. I turn back toward her and squeeze her hand. 

“Anyways, ready?” 

She nods and I teleport us before Asgore. He's standing a ways away from Alphys house, far enough away to avoid the armed laser cannons mounted on her roof. He’s waiting there patiently, like he has been for almost nine days now. He doesn't seem surprised by our sudden appearance. 

“Are you surrendering, then?” He seems both relieved and bummed out. What is with this guy?

“We are not surrendering anything!” Frisk shouts at him, and she lets go of me. She starts marching toward him with her hand pointing at him accusingly. He's so surprised he backs up a step. He doesn't look so intimidating anymore. Aw. Maybe he really is her dad. 

“Sans and Alphys are my friends,” she begins, marching right up to the King of the Underground in Alphys’ much too big lab coat. He stares down at her in shock. My brow creases when she calls me her friend. I don't quite like the sound of that. 

“And you can't stop me from seeing them! And you're NOT shutting down the Lab, because Alphys thinks we can break the barrier with my Determination. So I'm gonna do it! And you can't stop me, because I'm a grown ass adult, and I can make my own goddamn decisions!” 

She finishes her rant and stands there panting in front of him, her hands clenched in fists at her sides. He stares down at her, dumbfounded, for a few moments. His shoulders droop, and just like that, he's defeated. Can't say I didn't warn him. 

“I'm sorry, Frisk. I should have heard your side of the story before passing judgement,” he bows his head solemnly. Frisk up and hugs him. Just like that. Like he ain't the scary goat monster he is. He's so surprised he doesn't have time to hug her back. She lets go of him and steps back. I can tell from over here that she's blushing. 

“Now, go home!” She commands him, pointing her finger in the general direction of the elevator that leads to the Castle. He smiles down at her, pats her head gently a few times, and then turns around to head into Hotland. 

She spins around and trudges back to me. She's so embarrassed she won't meet my gaze. 

“Jeez, kid, go easy,” I tease her. She glares at me. 

“I need clothes. And a shower.” She’s still in Chara mode. I can fix that.

“I’m not your personal chauffeur,” I growl at her. I dart out and grip her waist and pull her against me. I tickle her and she shrieks happily and tries to push away from me. I teleport us into her room in the castle before I let her go. 

“Hurry up, kid. You still gotta go back to the lab for a while, you aren’t totally healed yet,” I tell her, sitting down on her bed to wait. She looks around the room and suddenly gets sad, but she turns away to riffle through the wardrobe on the other side of the room so that I don't see. She hates it in here…

“And uh...once you’re all healed up...and we’ve had a chance to talk...if ya want to...you can come home with me,” I stare down at my ratty pink slippers, but I’m watching her reaction from the corner of my eye. She drops the clothes she was holding and spins around to face me. I meet her eyes hesitantly. She’s looking at me like I just gave her the moon. 

“You mean...live with you?” Her eyes are shining. Deep, warm, absolute happiness wells up inside of me. 

“Yea. You should have been there this whole time,” I smile at her. She runs at me and tackles me. I laugh and flop down on the bed and let her cover me in kisses. 

“You’ll have to get a bigger bed,” she smiles mischievously. Her fingers start digging into my ribs over my t-shirt. I roll my eyes and shake my head at her. Is that all she thinks about? Heh, I know it is. I'd like to let her keep on goin’, but now isn’t the time. I lift her off of me, and her face falls in disappointment. 

_Not yet, lil’ kitten._

“Do what ya gotta do before they realize we’re here,” I turn her around and push her gently toward her bathroom door. She pouts, but complies. What a brat. 

I’m gonna fuck that girl, one o’ these days. 

\---

It took a total of five more days in the Lab before I was restored to full health. During those days, all of my friends came to visit me and wish me well. Except for Asriel. I think he’s mad at me. 

“He seems kinda down about something,” Undyne said when she came to visit me. She and Alphys finally made up, and Alphys seems much more relaxed about everything, including breaking the barrier. When I asked her what she wanted to do, she just smiled serenely at me and said,

“It’ll take a while to figure it out. No rush, really.” 

The King is no longer shutting the Lab down and has reappointed her as the Royal Scientist. He offered the job back to Sans, but Sans turned it down flat. He said he’d rather be Alphys’ assistant, because she's smarter anyways. 

So here I am, sitting on the bed in this little hospital room, waiting for Alphys to finish drawing a vial of my blood. 

“I’m just making sure you’re absolutely ok,” she says. I roll my eyes when she can’t see, because I feel just fine. 

“Can you do it again for me, please?” She finishes up and adjusts her glasses as she peers down at me. I huff and hold my hand out in front of me. I focus on the beating of my soul until that rushing power builds up inside. With the next beat of my heart, a shining, blue light pulses from my hand and creates a thin shield around me. 

“Excellent! You’re getting better at it!” she praises me. She starts tapping away at her watch, taking notes on my abilities. I kick my legs impatiently. 

“Can I go now???” 

She looks up at me and searches my face for a few moments. 

“Yes, I suppose so. But I want to see you back here in a week, just for a check up. And don’t do anything physically exhausting,” she goes back to tapping at her watch and doesn’t catch my face flaring up. I can NOT stop thinking about Sans. 

I hop off the bed and run out the door before she can change her mind. I dig my cellphone from my coat pocket and send him a text. He still hasn’t texted back by the time I’m out of Alphys’ house. I decide to call him, but he doesn’t answer. I sigh, frustrated. Where is he? He said he was going to pick me up from the Lab today. I guess I have to go looking for him, like old times. 

The first place I check is Snowdin. I walk up to his house and stand outside for a moment, feeling awkward. He said I could live with him once I was better, but he didn’t say exactly WHEN I could move in. I knock on the door, but nobody answers. I turn the knob, but it’s locked. I can hear Papyrus and Undyne yelling about something inside, and I assume they must be having one of their cooking lessons. Which probably means that Sans isn’t in there, because he never sticks around for those. 

I kick the door grumpily before turning around to head to Grillbys. I pop in for a second and look around, but he’s not here either. I didn’t think he would be, but it was worth a try. 

I flip open my phone again just to make sure he hasn’t tried to contact me. He hasn’t. 

“What the fuck, Sans?” I’m starting to get annoyed. He’s not one to make a promise and not keep it. I step back outside and from the corner of my eye I see Asriel coming out of the library. 

_Shit!_ I do NOT want to see him right now. I start heading away from him, towards the outskirts of town. There’s only one more place I can think to check. 

About an hour later I reach his drinking shack. I swear to god if he’s in here I’m going to kick his ass. I climb over the counter of the renovated sentry station and hang my head over the side to see that it’s empty. I pull myself completely over and stand, alone, inside the tiny building. 

I sigh, frustrated, and plunk down on the dirty floor. I lean my back against the counter and stare at the opposite wall. I shiver and look down at my exposed legs. I decided to wear that blue dress he gave me for Christmas, since finally leaving the Lab felt like a special occasion. I’m wearing a coat, so I’m not freezing, but I didn’t count on walking through the snow for hours. 

“God dammit, Sans.” I say out loud. 

He suddenly pops into existence in front of me, and I let out a startled gasp. He crouches down to be at eye level with me. 

“You rang?” he grins, showing me his sharp teeth. My face instantly burns. 

“Where were you?” I ask, frowning a little. This is the first time I’ve been near him since I left the Lab. I’m looking at him from head to foot. He’s wearing a grey t-shirt, a dark red cargo jacket with a ton of pockets and a deep hood, and black sweatpants. And those ratty pink slippers, which are so worn and threadbare that I can see his skeleton toes through the material. 

“Pap almost burned the house down making pancakes. We managed to put the fire out, but it’ll be a while before we can breathe in there…” he smirks. He seems so much more relaxed, now that he’s no longer battling for his soul. I guess that makes a lot of sense. 

“Is he alright??” I ask, realizing what he just said. I was distracted. He looks so fucking handsome in his new jacket. I don’t know what it is about this sentry station, but once again I’d like to be feeling him up right now. 

“Heh, yea. He’s fine. Hey, that dress looks good on you,” he eyes me up and down, and I’m suddenly imagining him ripping this dress off me. I hope he’s imagining it too. 

“Need a hand?” He gives me a lopsided grin and offers his hand to help me stand up. I stare at his hand for a few moments, and then look back into his face. There’s not a lot of room in this little shack, so he’s crouching very close to me. I can smell his campfire and pinetree scent. I can feel and smell his breath. I’m so fucking attracted to him right now. 

When I don’t respond, he raises an eyebrow at me quizzically. He wiggles his fingers at me. I look back down at his skeleton hand and all I can think about is what those fingers felt like inside of me. 

I can’t help myself. I grab him by the collar of his jacket and pull him into a kiss. He falls onto his knees and his hands immediately grip my waist. He hums deep in his chest and kisses me back like he’s been thinking about this too. I weave my hands around the back of his neck and sit on my knees. I run my hands down the back of his shirt and stroke his spine. He growls into my mouth and his hands start roaming as well. 

It’s like he can’t get enough of my body. His hands are moving, up my stomach, on my breasts, around my back, up my neck, in my hair. 

“Sans…” I breathe. With just that, I know he understands what I need, but suddenly he pulls back and gently pushes me away. 

“Hold on, kitten. I still haven’t told you...what I gotta tell you.” He looks sad, but there’s the faint outline of a blue eye in his left socket. 

I grind my teeth. 

“I don’t care,” I say, extremely annoyed. If he didn’t want to fuck me, he shouldn’t have called me kitten. 

“Babe, it wouldn’t be right. You need to know...and then, if ya still want me…” 

He shakes his head at me and moves to get up. I let out a frustrated little scream and push him backward. His ass hits the floor and his skull bumps the wall behind him. I crawl over him and get real close to his face. His eye sockets widen and his face turns a light shade of blue. 

“Sans, if you don’t fuck me _right now,_ I’m going to lose my _goddamn mind_.” 

His jaw drops. God, those fucking FANGS. 

“Christ, Frisk-- _here?”_ He sits up and looks around us at the cramped, dirty floor of the abandoned sentry station. He’s being so shy. I don’t _need_ shy Sans right now. 

I sit between his legs, reach my hands up his shirt and lace my fingers through his ribs. He gasps loudly and lurches forward against me. His bone shoulders crash into mine, and I have to actually hang on to his ribs to stop myself from falling backward. 

_“Here.”_ I command. He growls and his hot breath warms my face. His eye sparks and ignites into its socket with a small _pop!_

“You little _brat._ ” he smirks, semi serious. He grabs me under my thighs and pulls me against him. I let out a little “eek!” and curl my fingers tighter around his bones. I always forget how strong he is. I wrap my legs around him and scoot as close as I can get. He grasps the back of my head and his tongue appears behind his sharp teeth before he kisses me. 

He bites and sucks at my lips like he’s hungry and hasn’t eaten for days. His hand runs down my back and he squeezes my ass. I giggle into his mouth and lick at his teeth. His tongue pokes into my mouth and he wraps his arms around me. His sharp fingers dig into my flesh. 

I let my hands explore his back, especially the inside of his spine. He makes these little “unf!” noises that drive me crazy. He pulls my dress up my back and unclasps my bra. His hand moves to cup my breast and his thumb plays with my nipple. I whimper and suck on his tongue. I can feel him pressing against my crotch. 

_Hello there, mysterious dick._

I don’t know exactly what’s in those pants, but I’m determined to find out. I go for it. I slip my hand into his pants and my fingers wrap around what definitely feels like a cock. I mean, he just squeezed me and made a sound into my mouth that I’d like to make my ringtone, so yeah, pretty sure I’ve hit dick. There’s something static about it, kind of like his tongue. 

And holy SHIT. Undyne lied.

I slide my hand up his dick and his body shudders. His tongue goes so deep in my mouth I almost can’t breathe. I run my thumb over the top and his breath catches in his throat. I tug again and he moans. Again. And again. He stops kissing me and lets his head fall back against the wall. I watch in awe as he blushes the brightest blue. He’s watching me from one barely opened, flaming blue eye. His jaw is clenched and his bottom lip is caught in his fangs. 

With my other hand I’m exploring any space my fingers can get into--on his chest, up his neck, through his hip bones. He whines, slumps forward and presses his face into the space between my neck and my shoulder. He's groaning-- it’s an uneven, low growl resonating in his chest. 

He suddenly grabs my wrist to stop the hand that’s taking care of his mysterious pants monster. I get the point. He pushes me back and I lace my hands behind his neck. He drags me with him as he crawls to position us. He has to swat aside several empty ketchup bottles to make room. My back rests on the hard wooden floorboards. This small, cramped space smells like pine needles and melted snow.

“You always get your goddamn way.” He says rather grumpily in a gravely voice. The hood of his jacket has fallen down onto his head and his cyan and yellow eye lights up the dark. 

He lifts up my skirt, grabs the sides of my panties and unceremoniously yanks them down. His skeleton hand skitters up my inner thigh, and I let out a little gasp as his fingers touch me. He grins and his tongue glows blue through his sharp teeth. He moves back and kisses me down there, getting that tongue involved. I let out an involuntary yelp and clap my hands over my mouth. He chuckles very deeply and returns to hover over my face. 

“Think I’ll save that little trick fer later, when I can take my time,” he grins mischievously. 

His warm, pleasantly rough bone fingers slip inside me and caress my walls. I whisper his name and pull him down into a kiss. His tongue gently explores my mouth, and his thumb begins to circle my clit. I was already wet to begin with so it doesn't take very long before I'm squirming and clutching at his arms. He pulls away and watches my face intently as I get closer and closer to the edge. Just before I'm about to cum, he takes his fingers away. 

I groan impatiently. He gives me a smug little smirk and pushes my legs apart. He reaches down and takes out his dick. All I get is a glimpse of blue flames before he’s inside of me. And he pushes ALL the way in.

 _Holy SHIT!_ I stifle a cry and hold my breath. I reach up into his unzipped jacket and grasp at his back, clutching handfuls of his shirt. He lets out a slow, strangled breath and hangs his head.

“ _Fucking finally_.” he whispers, like he's been thinking about this for an eternity. 

He looks back at me, his left eye flaming and flashing so brightly that I can actually feel heat coming off his face.

“You alright, kiddo?” he asks, brushing the hair from my face. I stare up at him, speechless, and give him a brave little nod. 

“God, you're fucking _adorable,_ ” his voice is very low, and unabashed lust is written all over his skull. 

He thrusts and grinds against me. My head bumps against the wall of the sentry station. 

“Shit!” I curl into the curve of his chest and clamp my eyes shut. 

“Sorry.” He says through clenched, sharp teeth. He doesn't sound very sorry. I whimper. He pulls out slowly, carefully, gently.

And thrusts again, all the way, no mercy.

“AH!” I shudder and clench around him. He groans and drops his elbows to the floor. They knock on the wooden floorboards even through his jacket. His fingers tangle in my hair. His eye sockets are shut tight and I can hear his teeth grinding. His face is glowing blue. He pulls out again, slowly, and my grip tightens on his shirt. 

He thrusts again. I push down onto him. His hip bones dig painfully into mine, but I hook my hands through them to pull him even closer. 

“Fuck!” He growls, and his sharp, bone fingers grip my hair at the roots. He lowers his head to bite down on my shoulder and those fangs break skin. I grind into him, and he breathes my name like an incantation.

And that’s all it takes. I’m there. I hold onto him as pleasure grips me. My voice is making sounds I can't control. I keep clenching around him over and over again as he steadily pushes and pulls. The only thought in my head is the fact that I'm with Sans. I'm finally this close to the infuriating, goofy, unnerving, charming, fucked up skeleton monster I've been in love with since the very first timeline. 

“That's my girl.” His voice rumbles in my ear, and a brand new wave of pleasure pulses through me. He lifts his head to look down at me. He’s trying to be smug, but he's so caught up in my ecstasy that he can't hide the sincere fascination on his face. His thrusts become less controlled and he slams his eye sockets shut again. 

“Shit, Frisk…” he groans and clenches his teeth.

My vision is getting blurry and I can hear my heartbeat in my ears. My hands lose their grip on his hip bones and my arms fall limp to the floor. He thrusts into me over and over, pressing his forehead against mine and kissing me between heavy breaths. I'm still tensing around him and the sensation sends spasms rushing through my entire body. I feel like I might faint. 

His grip tightens in my hair, and he bites down on my neck almost harder than I can stand. Suddenly, his hips stutter and grind up hard against me. 

“FFFFFFUUUUUCK.” He moans into my neck. 

We stay there like that for a bit, catching our breath, each of us in our own universe of bliss. 

He lifts his head to look into my face. Both of his eyes glow in the shadow of his hood like blue and white Christmas lights. I’ve never seen that before. 

“Damn, kitten,” He pants, looking pleased with himself. His blue tongue sticks out a little, pinched between his teeth. I smile and stroke his spine under his shirt, all the way down. He shivers. I giggle. 

“I almost fainted,” I comment, a dazed smile on my face. His pupils flash brighter and he gives me a sharp grin. My neck and shoulder sting where he bit me, but I like it. 

“Guess that means I'm good at my job,” He laughs under his breath just a little bit evilly and kisses me one more time. He rolls off of me and snuggles in beside me, wrapping his bone arm around my middle. We lie there on the small, cramped, rectangular floor space and stare up at the log ceiling. 

It’s surprisingly warm in this little sentry station. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh shit! you thought you were gonna fuck the skeleton, but the skeleton fucked you! XD  
> *high fives for everyone*  
> There are more chapters coming up! lol everyone thinks this is the last one for some reason, but it most definitely isn't XD


	26. CONFESSION

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> If you thought the sex was over, you were wrong. Also, Sans confesses his sins.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As a nerd, I have to point out that Sans' and Papyrus' table is actually in the living room in the game, but for this story, their table is in the kitchen. Alright, let the smut commence.

(the first timeline) 

I stay stock still, hiding in the brush by the river, crouching in the mud. I’m shaking from head to toe with fear. I can hear her clanking, armored footsteps getting closer and closer. 

_Oh god, I’m going to die!!!!!!_

Undyne stops still in her tracks not even ten feet from my hiding spot, and she’s so deadly I can sense her eyes searching the brush carefully for me. 

“Heya, Undy,” Says a low, goofy voice. My heart jumps in my chest with sudden joy.

“Sans, what are you doing here??” Undyne barks, her voice as sharp as steel. 

“Patrollin’. What’re you doin’?” He asks lazily. He sounds like he isn’t worried about Undyne’s terrible mood at all. 

“The human came this way,” she growls angrily. I can sense her searching for me again. 

“I been walkin’ around this area for hours, and I ain’t seen nothin’ out o’ the ordinary,” he says confidently. 

“Are you sure?” she snaps at him. 

“As sure as the grave,” he swears jovially. I bet he’s winking at her. That skeleton is crazy. And kind of badass. 

Undyne lets out a frustrated growl and throws one of her giant, glowing blue spears aimlessly into the brush. It lands with a sickening thud not one foot from me. I notice it’s covered in blue flames. He knew exactly where I was. He just saved me. 

Undyne doesn’t seem to notice his interference, because she huffs and stomps away noisily in her heavy, metal armor. I crouch on the muddy ground, staying as quiet as I can until her footsteps diminish into the distance. After a few more moments, Sans says,

“Gee, kiddo. That was a close one.” He appears in front of me out of thin air, and I jump up and step backwards. 

“Woah there, relax,” he grins at me, shoving his skeleton hands into the pockets of his faded, blue hoodie. He’s wearing baggy, black basketball shorts and baby pink slippers. What the hell is up with this guy? 

And why am I always so happy to see him??? I mean, yea, he usually shows up just in time to save my skin, but lately I've been wishing he'd show up just to say hello. 

“Um...thanks,” I say blankly. I always seem to have a hard time forming coherent sentences around this short skeleton monster. I like that he’s barely even taller than me. 

“Hey, fuggedaboudit,” he shrugs passively, winking at me. My face starts burning. How the hell does a monster from the Underground have a slight Brooklyn accent? I don’t know, but it’s really, really cute. 

_Hold on, wait up. Just wait right the fuck there. What was that? He’s CUTE?_

Oh my god. He IS!!!! I hang my head slightly so that my hair falls into my face. I really hope he can’t see how red my face must be. 

“You alright, buddy?” he asks, concerned. My heart beats excitedly. 

_NO! No, you stop RIGHT THE FUCK THERE!!! You are NOT crushing on a skeleton._

“I’m fine! I’m just...I should go-- in case she comes back!” I say frantically, completely flustered. He raises a brow at me. 

“She ain’t comin’ back. Yer safe for now, kiddo,” he assures me, grinning confidently. He’s so relaxed I can’t help but believe him. Still, though, I need to leave this conversation ASAP. 

“I just…I have to go! I’ll see you around, ok?” I wave at him and turn to go, but he teleports into my path. I almost walk into him. I back up a step and look away, blushing like crazy. He quirks his head at me and fixes me with an odd look. When I refuse to look at him, he leans back on his heals and shrugs indifferently. 

“Fine by me kid. But hey, be careful, huh?” He nods at me, smirking, and then disappears in an instant with a tiny _pop!_

I stand there for a little while, struggling against the huge smile that’s threatening to take over my face. Butterflies are swarming in my stomach and I feel my heartbeat through my entire body. 

_Oh no. Oh boy. I may have a problem here._

 

\---

 

I just fucked a skeleton. 

I look over at him lying there next to me in this tiny sentry station. Finally, after all this time, he got to fourth base. I'm so fucking proud of him. 

He's looking pretty proud of himself too, with that dreamy smirk on his skull. He looks over and catches me watching. 

“Been wantin’ to do that since the first timeline.” He runs his hand down my chest, a look on his face like he can't believe we actually just did that. 

“When exactly did you decide you wanted to bone me?” I ask, giving him a mischievous grin of my own. He shuts one eye and screws up his face like he's thinking. 

“I'd have to say when you hugged me at the piano,” He says honestly. Wow, he actually had an answer? I have no idea when I realized I wanted to fuck this skeleton. It just sort of crept up on me. 

“Whadda bout you?” He asks, flashing me his new fangs. 

Shit. Uhhhhhhh, well, actually…

“The first time you saved me from Undyne,” I say, smiling at the memory. 

“Heh, you like it when I’m reckless,” he says, sounding way too proud of the fact. 

“Maybe I do,” I stick my tongue out at him and poke him in the ribs. He swats at my hand, and his eyes are drawn to my neck. He runs his fingers over my skin, touching the spots where those teeth broke skin. 

“Jeez, I made you bleed...biting is, uh, kind of a monster thing…sorry,” he grimaces, his face flushing blue. 

“Don’t be. I like it,” I assure him happily. 

“You sure do,” he raises his brows up and down, teasing me.

“I am part monster, after all,” I chirp. He looks surprised that I spoke of it, since we usually avoid subjects that make me panic. But right now, I’m so happy, nothing can hurt me. I roll over and straddle him. I'm still not wearing underwear. His hands run up my dress, up my thighs and hips and waist, his long bone fingers spread wide like he's trying to touch as much of me as possible. 

“I keep thinking you're gonna forget,” he says softly, his eyes roaming my body like he might never see me again. 

“Stop that,” I scold him gently, leaning down to kiss him. I sit up and caress his face, tracing my fingers around his eyes, mouth, down his jaw, his neck bones. He watches me silently, breathing deeply. He looks so content there, underneath me. 

Sitting on him like this should be insanely uncomfortable, but Sans isn't like an actual skeleton. There's some kind of magic about him that makes the clothes he wears look filled out, and he feels pretty solid (unless my fingers go searching) when I'm up against him. It's all a bit confusing honestly. 

My ever curious fingers start digging into the spaces between his ribs, over his shirt. It's basically a habit now. 

“Christ, girl, I just took care o’ya.” He drawls smugly. He looks up at me with a dopey smile and half lidded sockets. Those lights are big and round and flickering softly. I reach back and give the crotch of his pants a squeeze. He sucks in a breath between his teeth, and a faint blue iris appears around the white light in his left socket. 

“I've been wanting to fuck you for ages. I'm going to need you to stay determined,” I smirk down at him. 

“You didn't even remember us that whole time. How the hell do ya think I feel?” He growls playfully, reaching up to grasp at the back of my head. His sharp fingers wrap into my hair and he pulls me down into a rough kiss. His tongue goes so far into my mouth I almost gag. Woah. His other hand runs down my back and squeezes my ass. 

He lets me up for air, and I see that his left eye is back to flaming blue, but his other socket is still lit. I like that. I grind my hips down onto him and he hums deep in his chest. I sit up and run my fingers down his chest, drumming his ribs lightly. He makes a few of those noises I like, and his hands grip my waist. I squirm on his lap, and I feel him already pretty hard again beneath me. 

My fingers sneak under his shirt, and I start pulling it up slowly. I want to see his bones again, this time in broad daylight, but his skeletal hand darts out, fast as lightning, and wraps around my wrist. I look into his face, concerned. He’s still grinning up at me, but there’s anxiety straining his features. Ok, so he was only cool with me seeing him when he was drunk. I give him the slightest of nods, and he releases my wrist. Shit, so I guess I sort of took advantage of him while he was under the influence, didn't I??

So...what AM I allowed to see? I move my hand down to pull at his waistband, and I look at him to make sure it's ok. 

“Wait, hold on a second,” he says, trying to stop undressing me with his eyes long enough to focus. He snaps his fingers and suddenly the space above the counter is filled with silent, warm, cyan and yellow flames. It's now very pleasantly warm in here.

“Probably shoulda done that _before_ we fucked…” he winks up at me. 

I laugh and shrug off my jacket. He sits up and pulls my dress over my head, and my unclasped bra goes with it. I'm now totally naked, straddling a fully clothed skeleton.

_Oh, so he's allowed to see ME. Typical Sans._

“Damn, Frisk,” He says softly, looking me up and down with an awed expression plastered on his skull. Normally I'd be self conscious in a situation like this, but the way he's looking at me, I feel like I really am the most beautiful girl in the world. 

He runs his hands all over my body, kissing and sucking on my breasts, biting every now and then lightly with his sharp teeth. 

“God, Sans, I need…” I lose my words when his tongue starts going on my nipple. My hips grind down onto him again, and I let out a shaky breath. He takes his mouth off me and leans back on his elbows. He's looking smug again, just taking in the sight of me sitting pretty on top of him. 

I scoot back a bit so I can wiggle his pants down his pelvis a little. His cock pops out and I stare at it for a few seconds. Yep, that’s a dick alright. Except it's made of solid blue flames, like his tongue. I'm kind of glad I didn't get a good look at it before, because its size is a bit intimidating, compared to what I've experienced before. But hey, I already know it fits, right? 

I look back at him and see that he's watching me nervously, like he's afraid of my reaction. I give him a giant smile and reach out to grip him in my hand. His eyes cross a little and he lets out a sharp breath. I run my hand up it and he slumps back to rest on the floor, covering his eyes with the heels of his skeleton hands. I tug a few more times and lust after the sounds he makes. 

I think again about just how long he's been waiting for this, and I'm so turned on I can't stand it anymore. I stand on my knees to slowly lower myself onto his dick. He peeks down at me to watch, blushing a deep blue. Even though he was just inside me minutes ago, I still have a hard time relaxing enough to take all of him. He grips my hips with his sharp fingers and pushes his hips up, working himself up into me.

“Shit,” I say through clenched teeth. 

“Feels so fucking good,” he says shakily, running his fingertips up my thighs and hips. 

I give myself a few moments before pulling myself up off him, and down again. He sighs happily, and I grit my teeth. He thrusts up and goes deeper than I was ready for. I'm bucked forward and I lose my balance. 

“God!” I gasp, reaching out to steady myself. My hand closes around his collar bone, which is exposed out of the neck of his baggy t-shirt.

“Fuck!” He growls sharply, grasping my wrist in pain, and definitely some pleasure. 

“S-sorry,” I pant, still trying to relax with him inside me. He looks up at me with one flaming and flashing cyan and yellow eye, and one big, round, white eye. I can see his tongue glowing behind his grin. 

“Don't be.” He shakes his head, and his eyes and hands travel slowly down my body. My skin tingles with energy everywhere he touches.

“You're so fucking beautiful,” he breathes. His hips thrust upward again and I whimper and clamp my eyes shut. 

“You gotta relax, baby,” he purrs, his fingers moving down to rub gently at my clit. I grip his collarbone harder and he hisses through sharp teeth. I pull myself up, clenching around him, and then push down onto him. After a few more times, it starts to feel very, very good. My movements feel more natural now, and I lean my body the way I need so that he's rubbing me inside just the right way. 

“Atta girl,” he coos, looking up at me with half lidded sockets. God dammit, his voice is intoxicating. He adds his own thrusts into the mix, still kneading me gently in little circles with the fingers of his left hand. 

“Talk to me,” I choke out, blushing and totally overwhelmed. His eye sockets widen in surprise for a second, and then a devilish smile spreads across his skull. 

“You know what I'm gonna do to ya next?” He growls, digging the sharp fingertips of his free hand into my waist. I stare into his eyes and my movements become more frantic. 

“I'm gonna lay ya down, and I'm gonna bite ya _everywhere,”_ he narrows his eyes and he looks practically malicious. My arms lose strength and I fall to my elbows. My chest presses against him and I rest my forehead on his. He runs his hands down my back and grips my ass. I groan and grind into him harder. 

“You fuckin’ like that, don't ya?” He thrusts hard up into me, his hands pushing down on my ass. 

“Oh god,” I whimper, almost there. 

“That’s a good lil kitten.” He grips the back of my head with his long skeleton fingers and bites down on my neck. As soon as those fangs hit my skin, I'm wracked with an orgasm so powerful that I almost can't breathe. 

“Holy shit!” He gasps, his hands flying down to grip my hips so that he isn't forced out of me. 

“Sans!” I cry out, hiding my face in his neck bones and clutching his jacket in both hands. 

“Oh, fuck yes…” He groans blissfully, clenching his teeth and thrusting into me as I tense around him. His voice, every sound he's making, sends me farther and farther into intense pleasure. I feel my heartbeat in my ears again, and this time darkness starts fading out the edges of my sight. 

“I'm gonna...faint,” I warn him. 

“I got you, sweety,” he assures me, his voice low and gritty with obvious pleasure. That pet name sends me to places I've never been, and I feel myself about to pass out. As I go limp, his arms wrap around me. 

I come to, draped over him. He's panting in my ear, and I'm disappointed I didn't get to feel him cum. I can still feel myself coming down from my orgasm. I raise my head once I'm sure I've fully regained consciousness and look down into his face. He's blushing blue so brightly that his eyes, which have returned to their usual white, look dim in comparison. 

“How long was I out?” I ask shakily. 

“Ten seconds, maybe,” he pants. 

“Shit,” I blink, trying to clear my head. 

“I feel kinda dirty for blowin’ my load in an unconscious girl,” he grimaces guiltily. 

“Ew! Don't call it that!” I crinkle my nose. 

“What, blowin’ my load? Whatchu want me ta call it?” He quirks his head at me, trying to be cute. His accent is sneaking out big time right now, and fuck yes, it's cute as hell. I shake my head at him and lay back down on him. I'm exhausted. 

“All tuckered out, eh?” He pats my head condescendingly. 

“Fuck you,” I gripe. 

“Ya just did,” he snickers. 

“How come you got to see me naked, but I didn't get to take off your shirt?” I ask, kind of annoyed at his cockiness. He grows silent and his body stiffens under me. Uh oh, I've hit a nerve. 

“One thing at a time, babe,” he says finally, trying to sound casual, like he doesn't care either way. I decide to let it go for now. 

“Was it good?” He asks, suddenly shy. I giggle and lift myself up to hover over him. 

“I fucking fainted, and you're asking if it was good??” I smirk down at him and let my hair brush his face. He smiles happily and brings me down into a kiss. 

“Alright kid, get dressed.” He lifts me off of him and sits up. I stare at him, sitting on my knees on the floor. He sees me pouting and shakes his head at me, smirking. 

“I'm a little low on magic, kiddo. It's time to take a nap, and I ain't sleepin’ on this floor again.” He frowns at the sentry station around us. I huff, frustrated, but I gather up my dress, coat, bra and panties and pull them all on without standing up. He sits there watching me with a sleepy, happy expression until I'm suitably dressed and straightened out. 

“You promised biting, though,” I glare grumpily at him. He laughs and reaches out to grip my waist, letting his sharp fingertips bite into my flesh. I let out a surprised little breath as he pulls me into his lap before teleporting us into his room, on his bed. It smells strongly of smoke in here, and I actually have to breathe into my arm. That's right, Papyrus almost burned the house down with his pancakes. 

“Hang on,” Sans says distractedly, not very affected by the quality of air. He waves his arm at the window and a tiny blue orb flies from his hand. The window opens, and a cold breeze blows through the room, taking most of the smoke with it. 

I shiver, even with my coat on, and glare at him. 

“I thought you were running low on magic?” I accuse him. He shows me an open mouthed smile, his blue, flaming tongue curled over his glistening fangs. 

“Maybe I lied. Maybe I just wanted ta get ya in my room,” he sneers, both eyes flashing yellow for a second. He pushes me back on the bed and pins my arms to my sides. He hovers as close to my face as he can without actually touching me. 

“Ya wanted biting, amirite?” He grins almost evilly. My mouth hangs open, and I stare up at him in shock. He swoops down and clamps his jaws onto my neck, on the side he hasn't already bitten. I cry out and my back arches. He didn't break the skin, but holy shit! He releases me and gently sucks at the spot, swirling his tongue. I shiver and wiggle against him. He leans back and pulls my coat off, and then my dress up, and I help him pull it over my head. He moves down and nips at the skin stretched over my collarbone. He runs his teeth down my arm, pinching me here and there until biting down firmly on my wrist. I jump, but I like the sting. 

He leans into my chest and his mouth closes over my breast. He bites gently at my nipple through my bra. I suck in air through my teeth, and he chuckles. He moves down until his teeth scrape past my belly button. His wet, warm tongue touches my skin, and I let out a whine. His mouth covers my sensitive parts and he bites playfully at me through my panties. His skeleton finger hooks into the crotch of my underwear, and he pauses to look up at me like I better fucking hold onto something. 

He pulls my panties aside and his tongue glides up against my clit. I grip the blanket on either side of me. He closes his mouth on me, his fangs pinching just a little, and sucks. My hips thrust up into his mouth. He chuckles deeply and his tongue starts going in circles. 

“Oh...my god,” I plead, barely audible. My hands reach down to pet at his skull. He's watching me intently, eye sockets slightly narrowed, his focus shifting every now and then between my left and right eye. 

He gets a few fingers going inside of me, and his tongue starts flicking up and down. I jerk upwards and my entire body shudders. It's almost too much stimulation. 

“Too…much,” I mumble breathlessly and push at his skull. His eyes flash yellow again and he snarls. He bites down a little firmer around me and his tongue goes faster, with more pressure. 

I let out a strangled cry. My back arches and my head digs into the bed. 

“Fuck! Sans!” I choke out, digging my fingernails into the grooves of his skull. He hums very low against me, and the vibration sends me right over the edge, just like that. It's almost alarming how gripping the sensation is. He watches me with a lustful, open mouthed grin as his blue tongue gently licks me. I clench around his fingers over and over until my head gets that heavy, fuzzy feeling again and I can feel my limbs going slack. 

“Oh no ya don't!” Sans says, a little frantically, and moves up to grasp my jaw with his long, bone fingers. His sharp fingertips hum with magic, and suddenly my brain is wired, totally awake. My sight comes back and my limbs regain strength. As my eyes focus on his face I see that he's watching me with a mixture of lust and relief. His fingers are still inside of me, coaxing every last note of pleasure from me, and I get to enjoy the rest of my climax fully conscious. 

“Woah,” I pant. He chuckles and flops down on his side next to me. 

“Cool, it worked. I'll have to remember that next time,” he notes to himself. 

“What was that?” I bring my hand to my head. 

“Magic. I jump started your brain, in a way,” he shrugs, like it's no big deal. 

“Mad scientist Sans,” I think outloud to myself. He looks actually peeved at that statement for a moment, but then smiles sleepily. 

“Alright, for real now, I gotta take a nap. My magic really is gettin’ low,” he curls his arm around me and snuggles into my side. He breathes into my hair. 

“Why are you always so sleepy?” I complain, pulling the blanket over us. 

“It's hard work, fuckin’ you,” he mumbles happily, digging his fingers into my side. I shriek and squirm against him. He's an expert tickler, I swear. 

 

I wake up in his bed, alone. I sit up and rub my eyes groggily. I see a neatly folded pile of clothes sitting next to me. He’s found me some clothes of his to wear--the same t-shirt and sweatpants he always gave me whenever I spent the night on the couch in the old timelines. I leave my dress in a heap on his bed and venture out into the house. I use their bathroom before climbing silently down the stairs. 

I walk into the kitchen to see him sitting at the kitchen table, hunched over, head bowed, arms leaning on the table, holding a black, glass mug with both hands. He’s not wearing a jacket, and his white bone arms are exposed. I’m barefoot, and my feet don’t make any sound, but he lifts his head and looks over at me as soon as I enter the room. 

He gives me a soft smile and holds out his arm toward me, inviting me over. I tiptoe to him, smiling shyly, and sit sideways onto his lap. He curls his arm around me and leans his head back to survey me with half lidded sockets. 

“How you feelin’, Sport?” he asks, giving me a sideways smirk. I snuggle into him and press my face against his. 

“Good,” I murmur. I don’t like that we didn’t wake up together. 

“Heh. I bet you are,” he teases half heartedly. Oh, hello sad Sans. 

“What are you doing down here in the cold, all alone?” I ask, bringing my hand up to hold his face. He presses his hand over mine and leans his head into me. 

“Needed some time to prep myself for this talk,” he says gently. I can feel his words in my heart, and they weigh more than the ocean. Is he really ready for this?

I grip at his shirt and kiss him lightly. He returns the kiss, but he’s holding back. He pulls away from me and points to the chair across the table from us. 

“I’m gonna need ya to sit over there for this. And put on a jacket. It’s gonna get a lot colder in here.” He instructs, becoming serious. I see I can’t distract him from this any longer and give him a tiny nod. I stand up and leave the room to get my jacket from upstairs, but then I see his dark red one hanging on the hook by the door. I cross the living room and pull it off the hook. I shrug it on and pause for a moment, wondering if this is ok. Fuck it, this jacket is awesome, I’m doing it. 

I stroll back into the kitchen and watch for his reaction. He sees me and narrows his eyes, laughing softly and shaking his head at me. I give him a-- what are you going to do about it??-- look and plop down in the chair opposite him. I fold my arms in front of me and look into his face. He smiles at me for a little longer, and then looks down into his mug. 

“Is that coffee???” I lean over the table to peek inside the cup. He seems a little annoyed that I keep trying to delay this thing.

“Yea. Trying to give up ketchup.” 

I laugh out loud and he frowns at me. I cover my mouth and try to stop giggling. 

“I mean, sorry, of course you could,” I tease him. Sans give up ketchup? Never. 

He smirks at me condescendingly. 

“I’m jokin’, kid. Coffee replenishes magic,” he raises a suggestive eyebrow at me. 

“Ooooohhhh, I see,” I smile and stick my tongue out at him. He shakes his head at me, giving me that familiar --don’t you dare be cute right now-- look. He lets out a fretful sigh and looks back down into his coffee cup. This is it, I realize. He’s ready. 

“Alright, I have to go way back. There’s so much shit and it’s all connected.” He closes his eyes and rubs his brows with his bone fingers, making a soft grinding sound. That sad, lonely feeling is already clouding the air. 

“Ok,” I say quietly, nodding. My hands are entwined in my shirt. My knuckles are white.

Sans breathes in and then out very slowly. He puts both of his hands around the mug of coffee and stares into its depths. His fingers tap sharply against the glass. He begins talking in a monotone voice, speaking just slow enough so that I can understand, like he’s trying to just get it all out without stopping. 

“Back when Pap and I were kids, our mom told us not to go near the mountain, that people went up there and never came back. I was dumb, I didn’t listen. I convinced Papyrus to go up there with me. He wanted me to think he was cool, even though he was scared, so he followed me up the mountain.” 

I stay silent even though my brain is reeling. They climbed the mountain? 

“We were playing too close to the edge. I fell, and Papyrus tried to save me, but the edge crumbled and we both fell in. We were both injured, and it was hours before someone found us.” 

He pauses for a moment, and I notice he starts sweating. How a skeleton sweats, I don’t know, but little droplets are forming on his forehead. The room suddenly feels hot and cold at the same time. Static energy starts crackling in the air and I can feel my hair trying to stand up on my head. 

“He found us. He brought us back to his lab. He put us in cages.” 

His voice starts to shake and he’s clutching the mug so tightly I’m afraid it might break. 

“He did...horrible experiments on us. He was trying to create an incredibly powerful energy source by...altering a human soul.” 

His voice has a deadly edge to it. I could be imagining it, but I’m pretty sure his coffee is bubbling. 

“He made a machine that forced us to absorb monster souls.” 

I let out an involuntary gasp and he meets my gaze. His sockets are pitch black. 

“When a human absorbs a soul, their soul loses a portion of Determination, and it doesn’t come back. When he realized the experiment was a failure, he decided he might as well keep going just to see how many monster souls it would take to kill us. He did it just for fun.” He’s baring his teeth and his eyes are narrowed deeply. It’s like he doesn’t even see me sitting across the table from him. The coffee in his cup is at a full boil now and threatens to bubble over onto his hands. 

“Sans!” I say sharply. He sits up a little, his face relaxing, and the lights pop back into his sockets. He looks down at the mug, surprised, and takes his hands off it. The coffee stops boiling and sends a waft of steam up past his face. He looks back up at me and breathes kind of fast. I stay silent and wait for him to be ready to go on. After a few moments his shoulders relax, and he fixes his eyes on a spot in the middle of the table. 

“It takes exactly one hundred monster souls to drain a human soul of Determination,” he continues in a dim voice. 

“But ya don’t die when you lose all yer Determination. You become a monster. You turn into _this_ ,” he gestures to all of him forlornly, his eyes glued to that invisible spot on the table top. 

“And each time you absorb a soul, you gotta fight that soul’s consciousness for possession of your body. I always won, but Pap…” He chokes up and bows his head again. He’s looking down at his skeleton hands laying face up helplessly in his lap. 

“He lost the last fight. It was a monster child’s soul that took possession. Their magic is way more potent. He’s still in there somewhere, but I don’t see him often. Less and less as the years go on…” 

“But you love him!” I blurt out. I wasn’t planning on interrupting him, but there goes my brain deciding things without me. He looks up at me, surprised. 

“Course I do! He’s still my brother! He’s just not...the brother I had before.” He looks off into space with a long suffering expression on his face.

I just fell in love him even more, somehow. 

“As I was absorbing the hundredth soul, the machine malfunctioned and shut down. Gaster was repairing it, and Papyrus broke free from his cage and tried to save me, but Gaster got ‘im. He was gonna kill him, but my magic took control and pulled Gaster into the machine with me,” he makes an apathetic grab at the air, remembering the moment, then lets his hand fall back limply to his lap. 

“Somethin’ about his magic made the machine go haywire and we were both electrocuted. He died, but his soul fused to mine. Alphys, his assistant at the time, rescued me. She managed to stop him from gaining control of my body, but I still turned into...this,” he looks down at himself in disgust. 

“You’re amazing!!!” I interrupt avidly. His eyes snap up to mine and those sockets narrow a little. I blush, but I keep eye contact. I won’t have him thinking he’s something gross. That just won’t do. I can tell he doesn’t believe me. He looks back down at the table. 

“I’m not a good person, Frisk.” He says. There’s suddenly a biting chill in the air. I can’t see his eyes, but I know those lights have gone out. 

“When the King and Queen found out what Gaster’d been doing down in the lab, they found a home for Pap and me. The King realized I’d gained the former royal scientists’ smarts, so he appointed me as the new one. I hated it down in the Lab. I couldn’t live with myself. Couldn’t deal with what I’d done to Papyrus. I discovered the Time Machine in Gaster’s office, and I fixed it, but I needed a powerful soul to power the trip back. I found a spell that would summon a demon, one with a soul strong enough to use, but I needed Determination--lots of it, to call her forth,” He looks up at me and a cold wind blows through the room, and right through my core.

“There was enough Determination left in the Time Machine from it’s last trip to complete the spell. So I did it. I called forth the demon. I summoned Chara.” 

The air leaves my lungs like someone dropped a heavy weight on my chest. 

“She fell into the underground in the form of a child. I knew what she was, but her injured act tricked me. She was just a little girl. I couldn’t do it. And then the goat boy found her,” His face is a mask of pain. I want so badly to interrupt again, but I keep my tongue in check. 

“I watched from the shadows as he took the girl to the castle. I watched as the King and Queen accepted her as their daughter. I just stood by and watched. I knew that girl was no good, but I didn’t do nothin’.” He grinds his teeth and makes a strangled sound in the back of his throat. 

“So you couldn’t kill a little girl. There’s nothing wrong with that,” I argue softly. He makes a frustrated sound and grips the mug on the table again. He looks away from me, out the kitchen window. 

“Frisk, I summoned Chara with _your_ Determination. That’s why she was able to possess you. That’s why you had control over the timeline,” He says tensley. 

“Why would that give me control of the timeline??” I ask. He closes his eyes and lets out a short, shallow breath. He bows his head.

“The flower...I knew it was Chara, but I didn’t know the goat prince was in there too. I tried to use it in the time machine...but everything went horribly wrong. The machine malfunctioned and created a time loop. The flower gained control of the timeline. Your Determination was obviously stronger than the portion remaining in the flower...so you took over as soon as you fell...” His voice is so quiet I can barely hear him. 

“When you showed up and took control, I thought I was saved. I thought, somehow, you were the key to fixing the timeline. But then, in the second timeline, she took control of you…and it started all over again…” 

I can see tears falling into his lap. I want so badly to run around the table to him and hold him in my arms. I go to get up, but he looks up sharply and says,

“No!” His voice is stern, and cold. I sit back down and let my hair hang in my face. 

“I’m sorry,” he says, his face softening, “but you can’t...I can’t let you...the story ain't over yet.” 

His eye sockets close tightly and his teeth clench. 

“Before you came along...the other humans who fell...I wasn’t about to follow Asgore’s orders and kill them. They were all so afraid, and confused. I even tried to protect them at first, but the flower kept saving and resetting, over and over, playing with their lives. Some of them were friends, some of them enemies. I spent timeline after timeline watching them fight, win, and lose. Nobody remembered but me and him. The flower didn’t realize I knew what was going on until I tried to kill him. After that, he kept resetting just to mess with me. Over and over and over...for so long, I lost count…” He trails off into heavy, dead silence. He opens his eyes and pierces me with dark sockets. 

I stare at the skeleton across the table, and for the first time I understand just how old he is. In those deep, endless sockets are the shadows of a thousand years. I feel like we’re sitting, not in the kitchen, but in the cold, blank void. I feel so empty and full at the same time I don’t know what to do. 

“I couldn’t stand it anymore. I gave up. I made a deal with the demon. The flower couldn't kill anybody in that form, so I agreed to give him the human souls once seven were collected, if he would allow the timeline to go on uninterrupted,” tears begin streaming from his empty, inky black sockets and drip onto the table. 

“As soon as those humans came out of the door to the Ruins, I killed ‘em. I killed ‘em all.” He folds his arms on the table and hides his face. His shoulders begin to shake and I can hear him crying softly. 

“Sans…” I whisper. I’m clutching at my shirt, my hand poised like a spider on my chest. 

“And I wish I could say I did it because of the flower,” he sobs into his arms, 

“But that ain’t why I did it. I figured, once I collected the seventh soul, if I was quick enough, I could use all that DT to go back and fix everything.” His voice is broken and gritty with self hatred. I realize my own face is now wet with tears. 

“Poor Toriel, she thought they were her children. She was never right in the head after she lost Asriel and Chara. She begged me to stop, so I promised. I promised her, and I thought I'd spend eternity here, in hell, living the same years again and again…”

I stand up and my chair scoots back noisily. He looks up at me fearfully, his face shining with tears. I chew on my lip for a few moments, searching his face, and then I make my way around the table. He watches me warily, but doesn’t tell me to stop. I step up to him and take his skull in my hands. I lean down so that my face is level with his. 

“I don’t blame you. I don’t hate you. I will always love you, no matter what you do,” I say, determined, looking straight into his empty sockets. Those little lights flicker back into the darkness and he shakes his head slightly from side to side, staring at me in utter bewilderment. 

“If you hadn’t done those things, I’d have never met you. And maybe I’m being selfish, and maybe it’s fucked up of me to say, but I’m glad you did it. I’m glad, Sans,” I say, snaking my leg over him and sitting in his lap, facing him. His arms curl around me and he holds me so tight it almost hurts. 

“You’re all I got, Frisk. All I got in the whole wide world,” he breathes into my ear. I clutch at the shirt on his back and just hold him as he shakes. I realize little snowflakes are falling down on us from the ceiling. His magic is seeping from his bones, and that endless, bleak loneliness is overwhelming. 

“I’m not going anywhere, my poor little skeleton. Wherever you are, that's where I belong.” I promise. I caress his back and rest my head on his shoulder. He hides his face in my neck and squeezes me tighter, so that I can hardly breathe. We stay like that for several minutes. Eventually, I feel his frame relax, and snow stops falling on our heads. 

“Hey, Frisk?” he pipes up, sounding hesitant, but a lot less sad. The air in the kitchen is steadily warming up. 

“Yea?” I answer quietly, still resting against his shoulder. 

“I was wonderin’...if you wanted to...go steady with me?” 

I lift my head and lean back to look into his face. He’s blushing a light blue and looks a bit nervous. I can tell he’s trying his hardest to keep eye contact with me. I feel my face break into a huge smile, and my heart does a backflip in my chest. Shy Sans has his moments, too. 

“Of fucking course I do!!” I laugh and kiss him. He chuckles, relieved, and returns the kiss full force. 

“You done with that coffee yet?” I ask, breaking away from him to smirk mischievously. He gives me a roguish smile and his fangs poke into his lip. 

“Is that ALL you think about?” he sneers, his bone fingers digging into my sides, tickling me viciously. 

“Sans, quit!!!” I shriek, laughing uncontrollably. He relents and suddenly teleports us into his room. I’m straddling him as he sits on the bed. 

“Tomorrow, we’re packin’ up your stuff, and you’re movin’ in here,” he says in a low voice, his mouth so close to mine that I’m breathing air from his lungs. 

“And tonight?” I ask, poking him in the ribs. He laughs low under his breath and flashes me his fangs in a sideways smile. My stomach is suddenly filled with butterflies and it feels like my entire body is blushing. 

“You’re sleepin’ here. But uh, heh, you won’t be gettin’ much sleep.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *06/12/16*I know I haven't updated for a while, but fear not! I fully intend to finish this story, because it is very important to me. :) 
> 
> I did NOT make myself cry while writing this. SHUTTUP!! >:( 
> 
> Also, holy shit! you fucked the skeleton AGAIN! and then some. XD 
> 
> Thank you all for your freaking amazing comments!!! Even if it's just like, four people out there reading this, it fucking makes my day to think that anybody else gets a kick out of this. ^_^ 
> 
> No, this is not the end, don't even worry about it! XD


	27. SHOWDOWN

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Sans is kind of a terrible person, but come on. He had to do it. >:)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> woah! hey! it's been awhile! five months, actually. But hey, I met this guy and he's pretty much my soulmate. And also we live together now. Actually, it's kind of crazy how similar to my version of Sans he is...  
> AAAAAnnnnd a bunch of other stuff that isn't so fun happened too, but we won't talk about that :)  
> Anyways, if you're still out there, thanks for reading this! and also I love you!!!!  
> Be warned, this chapter hasn't been read by my editor yet, but I just couldn't wait any longer, so I apologize if there are grammar/spelling mistakes.  
> mmmkay, byeeee!!!

(The first timeline)

“In this world, it’s kill or _BE KILLED!!!”_ the flower laughs maniacally with a terrifying grin on its face. I scramble away, my body on autopilot. I just have to get away, I just have to survive! Sharp, glowing white seeds float around his head and then shoot at my face. They slice open my skin where they hit, but the pain is in my heart. I grasp my chest, feeling something drain away inside my soul. 

“Help me!” I call out, my brain frantically scrambling for any way out of this situation. If those evil seeds touch me again, I’m going to lose more of my...of my...soul? 

“Ha! Why are you trying so hard to get away? Isn’t this what you wanted??? Isn’t that why you jumped down here?? Humans, you’re all the same. You ask for death, but when it comes right down to it--” 

He’s interrupted by a blaring white ball of fire, bursting from the darkness in the expansive cavern and connecting with his face. 

“FUCK!” he swears angrily, and disappears into the mossy earth. 

I’m frozen, in shock. What the fuck?

“Oh my goodness, you poor little thing!!” says a soft, warm, beautiful voice. From out of the darkness rushes a giant goat lady. She kneels down next to me as I crab walk away from her. 

WHAT THE FUCK????

“Do not be afraid, my child. No harm will come to you in my presence.” She assures me. My chest heaves with labored breaths, and my eyes are twitching as I take in the sight of this creature.

What the hell is she? Where the fuck am I? Maybe I AM dead, and this is some sort of purgatory…?

“Who are you?” I ask, my voice shaking so badly I almost can’t speak. 

“I am Toriel, caretaker of the Ruins,” she says, like she’s rehearsed the line over and over. 

“Are you hurt?” She asks, nearing me again, but slowly and carefully. I search her face for a moment, and I decide that I can trust her. I don’t know why, but something about her makes me feel...safe. 

“Um...no...I mean…” I look down at myself and see blood seeping through my clothes where the Flower’s attack cut me. I can feel my face stinging as well, but what really concerns me is the strange...lessness? inside my chest. I place my hand over my heart. Am I imagining it, or does its beat feel quieter? 

“Poor, innocent child. Come with me, I will heal you.” She reaches out without hesitation and scoops me up in her arms. As she carries me away, I’m surprised that I’m not more freaked out. She’s warm, and her hands are covered is soft, silky white fur. 

She talks to me happily as we go, pointing out traps and giving me interesting details about what she calls the Ruins. Well, SHE obviously finds this interesting. I’m still not really sure what the hell is happening. And there’s a terrible pit in my stomach, as though I’ve forgotten something very important. Something the evil flower said…

She brings me to a tiny, clean house much much deeper into the cavern than I wanted to go. 

“This is your room. Would you like to take a nap?” she asks, gesturing toward the bed in a room that obviously belonged to a child at one point. What the hell happened to them? The hair on the back of my neck stands up at the thought of sleeping in this room at all. 

“Um, no, I’m ok.” I say, trying to sound polite. She gives me a look, like she knows I’m a liar. I don’t like how she’s staring right through me. 

“Well, why don’t I read you a story?” she offers warmly. I nod yes, because what the fuck else am I supposed to do??? I follow her into a cozy living room, and she sits in a big, comfy arm chair. She points at the floor at her feet, and I understand that I’m to sit. 

“Now, this book is called ‘101 Useful Snail Facts’,” she announces excitedly, looking down at me expectantly. I try to arrange my face into an expression of interest, but my brain can barely process anything at the moment. 

She begins to read, and her calm voice drifts over me like a warm, summer breeze. I’m starting to feel kind of sleepy, and as I relax, something horrible knocks at the back of my head. 

_Isn’t this what you wanted?_

I put my head in my hands and try not to think too much. 

“Are you alright, my child?” Toriel asks softly. I look up to see that she’s closed her book and is looking down at me with big, brown, concerned eyes. 

“I’m…” I don’t know why, but I don’t want to lie to her. I feel my throat tightening, and my eyes begin to sting. 

_Why are you trying so hard to get away?_

Before I know it, I’m curled into a ball on the floor, sobbing uncontrollably. In the next instant, I’ve been swept up into Toriel’s lap, and I’m being gently rocked back and forth. 

“Do your cuts hurt very much? I’m making you something special in the oven that should heal those right up,” she coos soothingly. It’s a while before I can answer, and when I do, my voice is barely audible. 

“I’m...lost.” I choke out. I’m not really sure what I’m saying. 

“No, not anymore. This is your home, and you are my child. I will take care of you, Frisk.” She says with determination. I believe her. I need to. She’s a complete stranger, but as she holds me I feel this warmth inside that I haven’t felt since...since…

_She won’t even notice you’re gone._

I clutch onto Toriel and refuse to think about that. 

_Frisk._

I grab onto that name like my life depends on it, and it does. I push everything before this moment from my mind. 

_My name is Frisk._

\---

There she is, standing at the kitchen counter, making pie I assume. Her pearly white horns glint in the electric light, and her long satin ears fall gracefully down onto her shoulders.

She’s my mom. She’s been my mom since the very first day I fell. 

“Mom?” I call to her softly as I enter the castle kitchen. She stops kneading the dough on the counter and turns to face me, looking delighted to see me, as always. Her face falls a little when she sees the look on mine.

“Frisk, my child, what’s troubling you?” she asks, pacing over to me and placing her hands on either side of my face, which means that I’m now covered in flour. 

Before I can move in with Sans, I’ve got to make sure my leaving won’t break her heart. I take a deep breath and say what I need to say.

“I was wondering…if it would be okay…if I moved out?” I ask tentatively. Her expression is unreadable, so I hurry to explain further.

“I’m back with Sans now, and he wants—I want—” I pause, swallow hard, and blurt,

“I’m moving out.”

I watch her face intently, my chest tightening around my beating heart.Tears form in her eyes.

“Oh my god, mom, I’m sorry!!!! I’ll stay, I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to make you sad!” I ramble, throwing my arms around her and burying my face in her stomach.

“Ohhh, no, no, no, I’m not upset my dearest.” She says. I look up into her smiling, teary eyed face.

“I’m so very happy for you!” she exclaims, her arms encircling me.

“You have been sad for so long, I’m so glad you are finally happy.”

My mouth hangs open as my brain tries to grasp these words.

“So…it’s ok?” I ask, still uncertain.

“Of course it’s ok. Remember, my child,” she says, suddenly looking stern.

“You deserve to be happy. Don’t ever let yourself forget that.” She instructs me.

I squeeze her as hard as I can, knowing that I couldn’t hurt her if I tried. She smirks down at me and then spins me around to push me toward the kitchen exit.

“You had better start packing.” She encourages me. I wrinkle my nose at her and walk from the room, practically skipping.

“And Frisk!” she calls. I pop my head back around the door frame.

“Be good…alright?” she implores, her eyes shining with magic and tears. I run back and attach myself to her. I want my heart to pour into her.

“I will, mom. I promise.” 

\---

(An earlier timeline)

“Where did you get that donut? Did you steal it???” The spider monster demands of me. 

“No, I--” I freeze, donut midway to my mouth.

“What’s this??” she interrupts me, as a tiny spider glides down a silver thread of silk and hangs in midair to whisper something into her ear. 

Turns out those spiders I bought the donut from work for her, and she was so pleased that I supported their business--I didn’t even have to keep fighting her. 

What a fucking relief. I’ve been walking for so long, through this stupid underground place full of stupid underground monsters who won’t stop trying to kill me. Why do I keep walking anyways? What am I expecting to find? Everyone assumes I’m looking for a way out of this place, but that’s definitely not the case. I never want to go back there again. 

It was never home. Not really. The last time I felt like I had a home was…

_Don’t think about that._

I look to my left and my heart perks up. A Nicecream stand! 

“Hello again! I moved shop, way more customers over here. Can’t believe I didn’t think about selling in Hotland before!” the strange blue bunny monster says to me. I smile, but it doesn’t reach my eyes. He’s always been nice to me, but I’m just so tired. 

I eat the Nicecream as I continue walking through Hotland. The dessert helps restore my energy a bit, but what I really need is an actual meal. My stomach growls as I smell food cooking in the air. I follow my nose until I find myself standing outside of what looks like a hotel. There must be a restaurant inside. 

I groan inwardly. I just spent the last of my money on that Nicecream. 

“Hungry, Kiddo?” 

I jump and spin around. Of course he’s here. He’s always checking up on me. It’s annoying. 

“No, I’m fine.” I say, trying not to let my face convey how much I don’t want to see him right now. 

_Kiddo._ I grit my teeth. Why does he call me that? I’m twenty five years old. Is it because he’s a skeleton? I guess technically everyone must be a lot younger than him. 

“You sure, buddy?” he steps closer to me and squints his eyes, err, sockets at me. Once again I get that unshakable feeling that he doesn’t trust me. 

“I’m sure.” I say very bluntly. I’m unable to stop myself from frowning. I’m too tired to pretend he doesn’t bother me. 

“You ain’t lookin’ so good,” he observes, the little lights in his skull traveling up and down my body. I wish he wouldn’t do that so much. 

Ugh, I’m blushing again. 

“Yea, well, what do you expect?” I gripe at him. 

“Hey now, don’t get sassy with me,” he grins and leans back on his heels. His hands are in the pockets of his faded, dirty looking blue hoodie. He never seems to take them out. Why does that drive me bananas? 

I roll my eyes at him and turn to walk past the hotel.

“Where ya off to in such a hurry?” he calls after me. 

“How the fuck should I know?” I yell over my shoulder. I look forward just in time to run right into him. I make a frustrated sound and put my hand on his chest to push him away. I can immediately tell somehow that there is no way I could even make him budge, but he steps back anyways. My hand tingles with energy. I could feel bones underneath that hoodie. 

“Stop fucking DOING THAT!” I sputter, flushing furiously. I look into his face and am surprised to see that he’s also blushing, if you can call it that. The front of his skull has turned a light blue, and I don’t know how I can tell, but his expression is definitely one of embarrassment. 

“Um...sorry,” he shrugs, looking away from me and shuffling his feet on the ground. 

Why is my heart beating so fast? I let my hand fall back to my side and clench my fist. What in the world possessed me to touch him? And why did I like it so goddamn much? 

“What do you want?” I ask, desperate to squash whatever I’m feeling into the deepest corners of my brain. 

“How come you ain’t stopped by the house?” he asks. I’m surprised to hear a bit of annoyance in his voice. I’ve never heard him say anything that wasn’t cool and calm as a summer breeze. 

My insides clench nervously when he reminds me of his offer. He told me a while ago that I could crash on his couch when I needed to, but there’s no way I’m spending the night in a house full of skeletons. Especially _this_ skeleton. I feel like there’s about a one hundred percent chance he’d be watching me while I slept. That should creep me out way more than it does. What the fuck is wrong with me?

“I don’t need to.” I shrug. He gives me a disbelieving look.

“Oh yea? Then uh, why do I keep findin’ you asleep in my sentry stations?” he asks, waiting expectantly for my answer. My face must be a deep shade of crimson at this point. I don’t answer and fix my eyes to stare intensely at the floor. 

“Look, kid, you don’t gotta sleep in my house. But, if ya ever need someplace--really need somewhere to go where yer safe...door’s always open. Got it?” 

I nod silently, still blushing at the floor. 

“Cool. Well, I’ll let you get on with it.” He pops out of existence and leaves me standing there in the red light of Hotland, alone. 

Why do I already miss him? 

He suddenly reappears, much closer to me than before, and takes one of his hands out of his pocket. He places his bright white skeleton hand on my head. I don’t dare move. 

“And uh, stay outta trouble, a’ight?” He says casually. I think I hear a note of concern in his deep voice, but there’s also a strange, terribly cold atmosphere suddenly raising goose bumps all over my exposed limbs. Is he threatening me? 

He’s gone the next time I blink. I shiver, even though the air has returned to Hotland’s usual, somehow mechanical warmth. 

 

 

I drag myself through the forest, barely able to keep standing. My ankle is fucked up, for sure. 

Every shadow, every noise I hear in the pitch black shadows between the trees makes my muscles jump. I can’t take anymore of this. I don’t want to fight anymore. I’m so tired. 

_I’m so fucking tired._ And scared. I just want to sleep, really sleep. I usually hole up in Sans’ sentry station, but even then I’m always waking up at the slightest noise, terrified that something has discovered me. 

_You could go to his house._

My stomach twists uncomfortably at the thought. I don’t know why, but I just can’t take him up on that offer. Not only does the thought kind of creep me out, but I also don’t want to be an inconvenience. 

_You’ve always been a burden._

I grit my teeth and try to ignore the pain shooting up my leg. I can see the sentry station now. It’s not too far away. But I’m so tired. So very tired. 

Suddenly a monster emerges from behind a grove of trees. It looks sort of like a reindeer, but with tiny trees growing from the ends of its antlers. It’s too late for me to hide, and it sees me instantly. It growls and steps toward me. 

“Please, no, I don’t want to fight!” I plead, backing away. 

“How can I trust you???” it demands, pawing the ground with its huge hoof. I stumble on a root sticking out of the snow and fall backward. I try to catch myself, but I land hard on my ass. My back hits a tree and my head snaps back to hit the trunk with a sharp crack. My vision becomes blurry and my ears ring loudly. 

I can hear the monster snorting angrily. It stomps the ground impatiently before charging at me. I bring my arms up to cover my head and wait for the attack to hit me. 

Something does make contact, but it’s not antlers. A pair of hands is gripping my wrists. My eyes open to see a blur of faded blue before I’m teleported. For just a split second, I see complete and total darkness in the corners of my eyes, but then the inside of a house takes its place. My vision is still blurry, and I’m starting to feel nauseous. 

“Woah, there, kiddo,” Sans says softly, wrapping his arms around my middle. He’s basically holding me up. 

“My head…” I groan, clutching handfuls of his hoodie. 

“Poor thing,” he mumbles. He guides me to a big, cushy green couch in the middle of the room. 

“Lie down, I’ll be right back,” he instructs, sounding uncharacteristically like he actually cares. 

I ease myself lengthwise onto the couch. It hurts like crazy to rest my head even on the soft cushion. I turn on my side and curl up into a ball. I squeeze my eyes shut against the spinning room. 

Sans reappears in the living room, holding a glass of clear liquid. 

“Here, this oughtta help.” He holds it out to me. I don’t really think drinking something this skeleton is offering is a good idea, but I’m desperate for any relief. I try and sit up enough to drain the contents of the glass into my mouth. 

I grimace at the taste. It’s basically salt water, lovingly called Sea Tea by the monsters down here. It’s disgusting, but it does help. With just one swig, I can feel the pain in my head and ankle lessening. My head stops spinning as I gulp down the rest.

“Thanks…” I sigh, handing the glass back to him. He takes it, his bone fingers rattling against its surface. He suddenly pierces me with a stern look and sits down on the couch next to my body. I tense up and try my hardest not to let any of my limbs touch him. 

“Frisk, I want you to stay here at night from now on,” he says. I’m so shocked at his serious tone that I can’t help but look straight into his eyes. I don’t like doing that, because I always feel like he can see something inside my head that I don’t want known. 

He’s looking at me like….like…

“Why do you want me in your house so bad?” I ask bluntly, sitting up. I refuse to look away. 

There’s something going on behind his face, some sort of battle that I can’t see. My heart cringes at the pain in those sockets. I suddenly realize this house is a lot colder than it was just a minute ago. 

“Sans?” I ask softly. I’m a little alarmed now. He’s not saying anything, which is so unlike him. His jaw looks like it’s locked shut. 

He looks away, scratches the back of his skull and mumbles something. I think I heard what he said, but that can’t be right. 

“You what?” I ask, my entire body suddenly shaking with cold. He makes a frustrated noise and shoves his hands back in his pocket. 

“I miss you,” he grumbles. 

“You…” I silently mouth the rest of the words. He misses me? He...what? 

“WHAT??” I blurt out, scooting even farther from him, which means I’m squished up against the back cushions of the couch. I hug my knees to my chest, which kind of hurts. The Sea Tea helped heal me up, but what I really need is lots and lots of rest. 

He realizes that I’m not comfortable being so close to him and he stands up very quickly. His face is flushed blue and he won’t look at me. Why do I feel so guilty and...so sad? 

_I’m so fucking sad…_

“Nevermind, kid. I was just, ah, I wasn’t, uh...don’t worry about it,” he mumbles awkwardly. He disappears, and then reappears seconds later holding a heap of blankets. He drops them unceremoniously on top of my face. I hear a faint _pop!_ And by the time I’ve extracted myself from underneath the blankets, he’s gone. 

I miss him already. 

\---

This is gonna take some getting used to. 

She’s moved into my room now. Well, I guess it’s _our_ room now, ain’t it? I stand here next to the bed, feeling a little out of place. Honestly, the place isn’t really that different. It’s not like she has a lot of stuff. But now I’ve got this beautiful girl in my room, uh, our room. All the time. 

Don’t get me wrong, I like having her around. I mean, I REALLY like it. And I don’t want to go back to the way it was. I just feels...new. 

Yea, that’s it. It’s all new. Things have been the same for me for...for a very long time, and now suddenly everything is progressing so quickly. It’ll just take some getting used to. 

She’s lying on the bed, tapping out a text to somebody on her phone. I immediately wonder who exactly she’s talking to. Better not be that goat asshole. She looks up at me, and I try to rearrange my face into that relaxed, cool expression it’s usually in, but too late. 

“What’s the matter??” she asks, sitting up and reaching out to me. 

My heart fills up with warmth and it spills all over my insides. I love her with everything I’ve got. 

“Nothin’, babe.” I grin, obeying her silent request and crawling onto the bed and into her arms. 

“You sure?” She isn’t easily fooled. She holds me to her and I bury my face in the crook of her shoulder. She smells so nice, I wish I could breathe in her scent all the time. 

“Yea...I’m just...nervous, I guess.” I don’t think that really sums it up. 

“About what?” she asks quietly. Her hand gently caresses the back of my skull, which sends pleasant shivers down my spine.

“I guess I ain’t used to being happy, ya know?” I try to explain. I’m not good at this-- talking about my feelings. 

“I get it.” Her arms tighten around me, like she’s afraid I might disappear. 

“I love ya.” I tell her. I let my magic creep from my bones, until we are both enveloped in a golden, pulsing warmth. She sighs happily. 

“Love you too.” 

I pull away from her to look into her face and brush her silky brown hair back behind her ears. She smiles and closes her eyes.

I wasn’t planning on it, but her phone happens to be laying face up on the bed next to her head. I catch sight of the text conversation on the screen. 

That. 

Mother.

Fucker. 

 

\---

Asriel stomped up the tower stairs, livid, his phone in his hand. He wrenched open Frisk’s door to see that the room was empty. 

“That son of a bitch!” he swore under his breath. He turned right back around and tore through the castle toward the exit, intent upon getting to Snowdin, finding the skeleton and removing his stupid skull from his stupid shoulders. As he entered the Judgement Hall, something sinister crept up his spine. 

“Heya.” Sans called out from the shadows. 

Asriel flinched and pierced the now visible skeleton with one of his bright purple eyes. 

“Where’s Frisk?” He scowled. He stood very still and did not take his eyes off the intruder.

“She’s where she belongs.” Sans said. His tone was casual, but there was static in the air. 

The orange light of the Judgment Hall was soft, and it was just before sunset. There was a blurry, warm feeling to the world, and the effect was amplified by the birds chirping somewhere in the distance. 

Sans stood, shadowed by one of the tall pillars, with his hands in his pockets and his hood pulled up. 

“Listen, pal,” Sans began, stepping forward suddenly into a casual but pressing march, toward Asriel.

“Just in case you get the idea into your head to go after my gal again,” The lights in his eyes shone like pinpricks of blinding white inside the void of his hood. Asriel took a few steps backward as Sans drew steadily closer. 

“Heh, let’s just say...things will _not_ go well for you,” He grinned sideways, pushing Asriel backward just by relentlessly stepping forward. 

Asriel hit the wall and could not back away from Sans any further. Sans teleported the last few steps ahead, his hood falling backward onto his shoulders from the force of his entrance into existence. 

“Are you seriously threatening me in my own castle?” Asriel scoffed. 

“Yea.” Sans shrugged. 

“You can’t stop me from talking to her.” Asriel sneered. 

“Pretty sure I can.” Sans’ grin curled down a bit on one side. 

Asriel prepared an attack. 

Sans shifted his bones slightly. He closed his eye sockets, and a crease appeared between his brows. He shook his head from side to side lazily. The room grew colder. 

“Asri, Asri, Asri. Come on now, don’t be an _ice-hole_.” Sans said, suddenly throwing his open hand forward. Bright, teal colored ice shot out from his hand and quickly crept up Asriel’s body, freezing him to the wall. 

“We’re both adults. I’m sure we can see eye to eye on this one.” He shot his hand up in the air as far as it could go and the top of a giant bone burst from the marble floor under his feet, bringing with it mud and dirt and silt. Sans stood atop it, just slightly above eye level with Asriel. 

“See now, that wasn’t so hard, was it?” Sans cocked his head and his flashing, flaming eye popped into the hollow of his left socket with the sound of a spark. 

“You’re disgusting. I bet you haven’t even told her the truth yet.” Asriel said sourly. 

“Actually, I did. I told her everything. I told her things even _you_ don’t know. And guess what? She’d still rather be with this bag ‘o bones than you.” Sans smiled unpleasantly. 

“You’re a liar. You’ll always be a lonely, pathetic, pile of trash. I hope you burn in hell, you sick mother fucker.” Asriel glared, his eyes shifting colors so quickly they became a rainbow blur. 

“I am a mother fucker,” Sans said, a look on his face that was reserved just for Flowey. 

“But not in THIS timeline.” 

Asriel was only confused for a moment. 

“LIAR!” He snarled so loudly that the walls shivered against the echoe. 

Sans laughed with so much malice, he sounded less like himself and more like the part of him gained from a man who says no words. 

Asriel roared and burst into flames the color of the northern lights. The ice was gone in an instant, rushing down to the floor as water. Sans jumped and flipped backwards gracefully out of the way of Asriel’s star attack, which destroyed the floor where he was just standing in a shower of colorful sparks. He landed and made a gesture as though he were pulling something from his pockets and throwing it to the ground. 

Tall, thin bones, like bars, shot up through the cracked marble in a perfect square cage around Asriel. Within a second, the prince disappeared in a wall of neon flames. 

Sans aimed a gaster blaster backward over his shoulder and stood stone still as it fired only inches from his face. 

Asriel, who had appeared just behind Sans, stepped aside just in time to miss it. A giant laser gun materialized in the air above his shoulder and spouted a similar looking plasma ray, but flashing every color of the rainbow, at the skeleton.

Sans pushed his hand backward, bone fingers stretched outward toward the ground, and a shield of tangled and intertwined bones that looked disturbingly like a twisted rib cage burst out of the dusty floor behind him. 

Upon impact, the bone wall made a dull, thudding, crunching noise, but held fast against the furiously bright attack. 

“All I was gonna say, was,” Sans continued in his relaxed, casual, static charged tone. 

“-maybe you should try to make better decisions regarding your _health.”_

Sans clasped the hand behind him closed and Asriel clamped a hand over his own chest. He looked down and then back up. He seemed to be caught off guard. He grimaced and swayed where he stood.

Sans’ bone shield crumbled into dust from the top to the bottom. He put his fist back in his pocket and slowly turned to face Asriel. He surveyed Asriel with narrowed eye sockets, tilting his head back a little and putting his weight on his heels. 

“What say we let bygones be bygones, eh sport?” Sans said carefully. His fist gripped tighter inside his pocket. Asriel sucked in air through clenched, bared fangs. His shoulders curled inwards and his tall spine hunched over slightly.

“She can make her own decisions.” He growled, spit flying from between his teeth, his hackles raised. 

“Yea. That’s right. And she decided on me. So, if I catch you sniffing around her again,” he grinned so wide that Asriel could see ALL of his fangs.

“You don’t--” Asriel began to snarl something, but Sans clenched his fist even tighter still. 

Asriel made a pained, choking noise. Taking advantage of his foe’s moment of discomposure, Sans continued.

“ _If I catch you_ , little goat prince,” He said, something hissing inside his voice.

“You’re gonna have a real _bad time.”_

Asriel said nothing, but glared violently at the short skeleton standing amongst the debris of the once glass smooth floor of the Judgment Hall. 

“I’m glad we had this talk. I’ll be seeing ya.” Sans winked. 

And with his hands in his pockets and a smile on his skull, he popped out of existence. 

Asriel did not move for quite a while. When he did finally stir, it was with a sweaty face that he walked back into the castle. 


	28. STAY AWAKE!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Frisk isn't sleeping, and I don't blame her. Sans left out just one little thing about his past...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Halloween!!! :)

_I’m so cold. Why am I so unbearably cold?_

I open my eyes and I know exactly where I am. I recognize the dream immediately, and I prepare for what’s next. 

I look down and notice my arms. They feel somehow heavy, and numb. Soft, white gauze is wrapped carefully and meticulously around each arm, from elbow to the wrist. I look up at the ceiling and close my eyes, wishing I could go back to being unconscious. 

_I failed, then._

Great. I couldn’t even do that right. 

I look around at the dull, drab hospital room. One wall is made of cloudy windows, and outside I can see the town spread out beneath me. It’s a small town, and nothing much happens here--unless you like biking, skiing, hunting or fishing. Being outdoors is not my cup of tea. Well, not here. I'm more of a sunshine and ocean girl. 

But I’ll never make it to the coast. I’ll always be stuck, here, in this stupid place. 

I suddenly notice there are people in the room with me. Oh, that’s right, I’m dreaming. 

First my sister speaks to me, pain and fear pulling her expression into a face I don’t recognize. 

“You should have called me. I would have come over. You have to promise me, promise me you’ll call me if you ever get that close again. Promise me!” 

And then my mom is holding my hand. She’s wearing that face she puts on when she’s trying to make me feel bad. My teeth grind, my lip curls, and I wish I could rip my hand out of hers. She was never, and will never be my mom, no matter what the adoption papers say. 

“You can’t let bad circumstances get you down, Jenny. You can move back in with us. You don’t need those meds. You need to come back to Jesus, Jenny.” 

She cries, but I can see through her like a ghost. She cries, but I feel nothing. I stare up at the ceiling and wait for the dream to end. 

A nurse enters the room and tells me she’s going to change my bandages. I stare at her blankly. I don’t need to acknowledge her. I don’t care about being polite. She isn’t real. I’m asleep. She starts to peal away the gauze and I jump at the pain that shoots down my arm. 

_That hurt!_

But dreams don’t hurt! 

“Do you need more pain medication?” the nurse asks, concerned. I stare at her, wide eyed, my heart pounding unevenly. 

“She’s fine. She doesn’t need anymore drugs.” My mom frowns at the nurse. She seems to think, since I did this to myself, I shouldn’t be allowed to feel nothing. The dream has never gone on this long. The nurse starts removing the bandages again and I jerk away from her. I felt that! 

“Hold still and let her do it, Jenny.” Mom looks down on me with that annoyance I’ve come to expect from everyone. If she doesn’t even like me, why the hell would anyone else? 

_Sans likes me. He fucking LOVES me!_

Sans! 

“Where’s Sans????” I demand of her. I’ve never interrupted the dream before. 

“Who?” she leans in closer to my bed. I resist baring my teeth at her. 

“Sans! My skeleton, where is my skeleton???” I turn to the nurse. 

“Skeleton? What are you talking about? Are you ok, Jenny?” My mom tries to act like she cares. I pay her no mind. The nurse is watching me with actual concern. 

“She might be hallucinating from the pain medication. It’ll wear off in a few minutes.” 

She doesn’t believe me. Blind panic starts gripping my core. Why aren’t I waking up? 

Oh no. Oh no, is this real? Did I reset? No, the reset always took me back to my room. 

“You’ll come back and live with us, Jenny.” My mom says, patting my leg. My skin bristles unpleasantly at her touch. 

“Don’t call me that!” I hiss. That horrible, heavy loneliness is settling into my chest. I’ll always be alone. I’ll always be sad.

“Baby, calm down. I’m right here, ok?” Sans voice breaks through the illusion, right into my head. 

“Sans???” I call out, desperate. 

“If you had stayed in the arms of the Lord, you wouldn’t have done this to yourself, you know that, right dear?” My mom tells me for the hundredth time. 

“FUCK YOU AND FUCK YOUR GOD!” I scream at her, so enraged that I feel almost animal. 

“Frisk, sweetie, please wake up!” Sans begs. 

Gaster walks into the hospital room. 

My entire body gives over to panic. I'm rigid in this bed, my eyes fixed upon his terrible face. 

“It's ready, my pet. All I need is you, and I can finally go back.” He says without words. He smiles serenely down at me as I wish for anything but this. 

“No! Please, just let me go! Just let me go, I promise I won't tell! Let me go to her, she needs me...she needs me…” I sob. 

“She won't even notice you're gone.” He says, as though he thinks this thought will soothe me. 

_It's all my fault._

He reaches out to unlock the shackles around my wrists. I begin to scream and thrash as violently as I can. My panic echoes off the dark, cold stone walls of the dungeon. 

_Don't let him touch me!!!_

“Frisk!! Baby, I don't know what's going on, but it isn’t real!! You gotta wake up!!!” Sans’ voice echoes in my head. I've almost forgotten who he is. 

“Come now, my pet, we have a very long trip ahead of us. I need you in tip top shape.” His inky black hands snake under me, and my stomach lurches at his touch. 

I claw at him, trying to tear him apart. 

“Frisk!! Stop!! Please!!” 

I freeze for a moment. I know that voice! 

“ _WAKE UP!!_ ”

A jolt of electricity runs through my brain and my eyes snap open. Sans is hovering over me, one hand on my head and the other grasping my wrist. The room is dark, but the flashlight taped to his desk is on, and I can see that I've ripped his t-shirt in several places. 

“He had me...” I whine, wrapping my arms around my poor little skeleton so tight my bones hurt up against his. He holds me to him and strokes my hair.

“Not on my watch. No ma’am, you're all mine, and ain't nobody taking you away from me,” He's shaking, but his voice is steady. He's so nice and warm that eventually my body stops shivering. 

“I almost forgot you,” I whisper, clutching handfuls of his shredded shirt. 

“Again, not on my watch,” he says, sounding very sure of himself. 

“I'm so sorry, Sans,” I cringe. This is the third time this week I've woken him up with a night terror. 

Ever since my magic manifested, I've been having these strange, lifelike dreams. And each time, they get more and more terrifying, harder and harder to wake up from. 

“It's not your fault, baby,” He kisses the top of my head and holds me tighter. 

“Did I hurt you??” I ask through tears. 

“Nah. Did a number on my shirt though,” He teases. I sigh, exhausted. 

“Maybe we oughtta...talk to Alphys?” He suggests hesitantly. 

“No. She’ll hook me up to one of those machines, and that's what started all this in the first place,” I say bluntly. I feel bad for snapping at him, because I know he's right. 

But I don't ever want to remember. I don't want to go back. 

 

“I just know you'll love this story, human! It's one of my absolute favorites!” Papyrus assures me as we walk back from the library. 

I offered to go with him, just to keep myself from falling asleep. Sans doesn't know, but I haven't slept but maybe three hours in the past two days. If he finds out, he'll take me to Alphys whether I want to go or not. 

“I'm sure it's great, Pap,” I answer distractedly as I watch the ground. 

“Your majesty! What a splendid surprise!” Papyrus stops abruptly and goes into a military salute. My eyes focus on a pair of large, bright green sneakers against the fresh inch of snow. 

“Hey.” Asriel speaks in a voice lacking its usual animation. My eyes travel from his shoes up to his face. His entire, usually joyful, frame seems...wilted. I am suddenly wracked with so much guilt I can barely keep eye contact. 

“Hey.” I greet him back, very meekly. 

This is the first time I've seen him face to face since that day I almost got myself killed trying to save Sans. We've texted back and forth a little, but I've been tactfully avoiding his requests to see me. 

“Erm, yes, well...the Great Papyrus is expected at Undyne’s for a cooking lesson, so I must bid you both goodbye for now! Please do try not to miss me too much!” Papyrus bows himself out of this awkward situation. I fume silently at his retreating form. Papyrus may be naive, but he's not stupid. 

“Look, if you don't want to see me, that's fine.” Ariel mumbles, looking away moodily toward the library over my shoulder. 

“It's not that! It's just...you tried to make it so that Sans and I couldn't see each other. And I thought you were ok with us--”

“Of course I'm not ok with you being with that trash bag.” He says bluntly, frowning so that his eyes flash red. He's still watching the library instead of me. 

“But...on Christmas, you said--” I sputter, but he interrupts me again. 

“Did he really tell you everything?” He asks sharply, suddenly fixing his vivid red gaze down upon me. It strikes me how very much like Toriel he looks just now. 

“Yes.” 

“And you still want-”

“Yes!” I say, raising my voice a few notches. I glare up at him defiantly, daring him to insult Sans again. I can feel a rush of magic flaring from my soul and gathering with a pulsing energy in my right hand. 

He eyes the blue light dancing around my clenched fist, but he only looks slightly annoyed. 

“Oh yea??” he begins, a wild, reckless look in his eyes.

“Did that ugly little piece of shit tell you about T--” he stops his sentence dead in its tracks, gulping painfully, like he's about to be sick. His shoulders cave in around his chest. 

“Asriel??” I reach out to grab his arm in concern, but he steps away from me with a frustrated growl. 

“What...are you ok??” I ask, watching his face with avid concern. 

“I'm fine. Never mind.” He says angrily and turns to stride away. I watch him go. 

“What'd he want?” Sans asks, suddenly standing beside me, also watching the prince of the underground walk farther and farther away. 

Sans is trying to sound casual, but the jealousy is so evident it's like a stench in the air. Suddenly Asriel’s behavior doesn’t seem so weird. 

“What did you do to him??” I demand, turning to face him. My magic had subsided in my concern for Asriel, but now both my clenched fists are flashing blue and white dangerously. 

“Hey now, I didn't do nothin’” He puts up his hands in surrender, but I know he's just trying to console me. I also know he's a sneaky little skeleton. 

“You're unbelievable.” I shake my head at him, and then walk away as quickly as I can. Sans of course materializes next to me and easily matches my pace. 

“Don't be mad at me, baby.” He asks pitifully. I don't say anything until I slam our front door shut. 

“Is Papyrus here?” 

“He's at Undyne’s.” Sans answers grumpily. Oh, so now he's mad at me? He slumps away toward the staircase, which means he’s throwing a temper tantrum. He could just teleport, but he wants me to know he’s upset. 

God, he’s such a baby. That’s it. Tonight’s the night. 

“Sans, wait!” I call to him. He looks back at me and raises a brow. 

“Come here,” I open my arms to him. He rocks back and forth once before grudgingly trudging over to me. Once he gets to me I push him down onto the couch. He falls onto the cushions and looks up at me, annoyed, but curious. 

“Now shut up and listen to me.” I put my hands on my hips and look sternly down upon him. He rolls his eyes at me, but doesn’t argue. 

“First of all, you’re going to leave Asriel alone. I’m allowed to talk to whoever I want, and he hasn’t done anything wrong.” 

It’s very evident that Sans doesn’t agree with that statement. 

“Secondly, it really bothers me that you think I’d cheat on you.” I say, softening my voice. His eyes widen and he shifts in his seat. 

“I don’t think…” he mumbles halfheartedly.

“You can’t seriously still be jealous of Asriel. After everything we’ve been through? You really think I’m just going to up and leave you for a goat monster?” 

“No, of course not.” He shakes his head. He looks down at his knees. He's wearing actual pants today, jeans. He furrows his brow. 

“Then what's the matter??” I demand. I already have an idea, but I need to hear him say it outloud. 

“Nothin.” He refuses, looking toward the staircase for an escape route. I get the feeling he's about to teleport, so I quickly climb onto his lap and straddle his legs, facing him. He instinctively looks toward the front door. I grab his skull in my hands and make him look at me. 

“I locked it.” I say firmly. He's looking at me a little warily. He can see the determination on my face. 

“Now tell me what's wrong.” I say soothingly, running my fingers gently over his skull. He shivers beneath me. 

“I don't know, Frisk. Sometimes I just...start thinking…” The little lights in his eyes get duller and he looks away from me. I scratch lightly at the back of the bones in his neck. Those lights get a bit brighter and he squirms a little in his seat. 

“What are you so worried about?” I ask sweetly. I let my hand run down his chest over his shirt. He lets out a little breath, but his jaw is clenched. I sneak my fingers under the bottom of his shirt and start pulling it up. Just as I thought, his skeleton hand darts up and wraps around my wrist, stopping me from exposing his bones. He meets my eyes nervously and I give him a knowing look. 

“Tell me.” I wiggle against his lap. His cheekbones turn blue. 

“It’s just....you’re so beautiful...and I’m…” The lights in his eyes grow dim again. 

I knew it. 

We’ve had a lot of sex this past week and a half, and I mean A LOT of sex. But each time he keeps his clothes on. And when I try to bring up the subject, he always sneaks his way out of answering. 

“I like that you’re a skeleton.” I say confidently. I can feel my face getting hot too. He eyes me and I can see that he thinks I’m just being nice. 

“Come on, kid, I know you love me, but you don’t have to…” he mutters and trails off. I’m hurt. I pull away from him and slump my shoulders. My hair falls into my face. 

“How do you think it makes me feel that you think I’m weird for being attracted to you?” I say softly, feeling my face get even redder. He sees what he’s done and tries to backpedal. 

“Oh shit! Frisk, I didn’t mean it like that--I only meant, I was only, shit, I’m sorry, baby--” He places his hands on my waist and sits up so that his face is closer to mine. He reaches up and smoothes the hair from my face. I wrap my arms around his shoulders and lean into him, getting my face as close to his as I can without touching him. 

“I think you're sexy. And it's not _because_ you're a skeleton. I'm not attracted to Papyrus, am I?” 

He's still worried about upsetting me, but he smirks. 

“You're sexy because you're you. And...yea, I do like your bones. So...just let me see you.” I look into his eye sockets and watch those lights get bigger and rounder. He still looks apprehensive. 

“You get to see ME.” I point out, smirking. He shakes his head at me, like that isn’t fair, but he's coming around. 

“If you wanna see me that bad, doll, I won't stop ya.” He grins and leans back against the couch. He's trying the whole casual skeleton man act now, but I can still see the strain on his face. I'll take it slow. I pull at his jacket and he helps me take it off. I drop it on the couch cushion next to us. His breathing gets a little shallow and his eyes shift toward the stairs again. My poor little skeleton. 

I lean towards him and trace my hands down the back of his skull and neck. I kiss his neck bones and he sucks in air through his teeth. I let my tongue touch him and his hands grip my waist. He doesn’t taste like anything really, but his rough, scratched bones are humming just ever so slightly, like they’re alive. I trail my tongue down, pulling at the collar of his shirt to expose his collar bone. I nibble at it, just to test what my teeth sound like against the bone, and Sans lets out a tiny yelp. I pull my head back to make sure that didn’t hurt him, but he’s blushing so hard his entire face is blue. He looks surprised, and maybe a little alarmed. 

“Uh oh. I think I just found a secret…” I smile evilly at his expression and swoop back down to bite gently at his neck bones. He grips at the shirt on my back and locks his jaw against the noises trying to escape his mouth. 

Well, shit. Now I’m turned on. And I can feel, against my crotch, that he’s also enjoying this. But I think, for this first time, I should just explore him. 

I lean back and pull his shirt slowly up over his chest. He stiffens and watches me warily, but doesn’t stop me. I pull the shirt over his head and toss it over the back of the couch. I look down at him and just drink him in. He's broad, and his bones are close knit and sort of gnarled together, like the branches of a tree. The pitch black inside him pulses slightly with each beat of his heart, and his rib cage rises with his breath. His bones are so white I don’t think even the snow outside could compare. I run my hands over his collarbone, his shoulders, down his arms. He looks up at me with a strange expression, and suddenly it dawns on me. 

“You've never let anybody see you before, have you?” I ask in a hushed voice, holding his skull gently between my hands. He swallows and just shakes his head. 

“You're amazing,” I whisper, completely enchanted by him. His eyes flash brighter, and I think he might actually believe me this time. 

“I’ve done so much bad, how the hell did I end up with somebody so good?” he rumbles, gripping my hips and pushing himself up against me. Shit, that feels good.

“Hey, I’ve technically murdered almost every single monster in this place,” I giggle. He gives me a lopsided grin, and that look he always gives me before we fuck takes over his face. 

I reach under his ribcage and scrape my fingernails lightly down the inside of his spine. He lurches against me and moans softly. He hides his face between my breasts. 

“Oh...my god,” he says shakily, his breath hot on my chest.

“You like that?” I lilt. I run my fingers, lightly drumming, down the inside of his ribs. He whines, like he's begging. 

Alright, so maybe we WILL fuck.

“Can we do it on the couch?” I ask shyly. His eye sockets widen in surprise, and he chuckles.

“Sure. But if Pap comes home, you’re answering any awkward questions,” He smirks, his hands already creeping up the inside of my shirt. 

“I told you, I locked the door.” 

“Yer just gonna leave him out in the cold??” 

“He’s a skeleton, he’ll be fine.” 

He shakes his head, chastising me, but I can tell he’s into this. 

“You know I love you more than anything, right?” He asks softly, staring up at me like I’m a goddess. 

“I know,” I smile happily. 

“Did you just Han Solo me?” His sharp fingers are suddenly at the ready to tickle my sides, depending on my answer. 

“Yep,” I say, preparing for the attack. 

“You little brat!” His sharp teeth flash in the light and his eyes burst into flaming blue. I shriek with laughter and wiggle against him as he tickles me mercilessly. 

I don’t think I’ve ever been this happy. 

 

\---

 

She ain’t sleeping. She’s tryin to hide it from me, but you can’t trick a professional trickster. Plus it’s super obvious. She looks like she’s dying, for Christ’s sake. I’ve been keeping an eye on her, a magical eye that is, wherever she goes. I’m worried about her, walking around the Underground like a zombie, bumping into things like a fly stuck in a car. 

Doesn’t help that she got a job. I told her she didn’t need to, because working at the lab pays well. Plus I was the Royal Scientist for several years, so, you know, I’m kinda rich. 

But hey, I’m a progressive kinda guy, so if she wants to get a job, that’s up to her. But you need sleep to function, and you need to function to have a job. The Nicecream guy gave her a job running a second cart, and almost every time I check in, she’s snoozing with her face plastered to the counter. Nicecream bunny doesn’t mind, he’s just pumped if she happens to sell even one treat. 

She doesn’t wanna have those dreams anymore, and I don’t blame her. She always had nightmares, especially about becoming Chara in other timelines, but these are so much worse. That last one...I thought I’d have to take her to Alphys in the middle of the night. She’s gotta go eventually, whether she wants to or not, but I’d rather not force her. 

Speaking of the Lab, Alphys and I are still working on ways to break the barrier. Alphys is almost certain now that the determination the machine extracted from Frisk will be compatible with monster souls. I’m not gonna argue, she’s the Royal Scientist now, but something about the idea doesn’t sit well with me. Plus, we’d have to go through the process of finding monster souls to use, and that’s an unpleasant business. Not that people haven’t always been keen to offer up souls of fallen loved ones, because it would be an honor to help break the barrier. I’m just not very fond of extracting the souls…

I shudder and try to think about something else. 

 

\---

(An earlier timeline)

I’m walking next to Sans, our hands intertwined and our feet making crunching noises in the hardened crust of snow glittering in the sunset. He opens the door for me, and we both enter Grillby’s warm, crowded interior. 

He grins at me and leads me through the restaurant toward the bar.

“Sansy!! Come sit with meeee!!” a sickeningly sweet voice calls out to him. I look over to see a very drunk, yellow, bunny lady sitting at a booth to our right. Through the obvious haze of alcohol, she finally notices me. She eyes Sans’ hand holding mine and looks very unhappy. 

Something in my stomach lurches as I watch her. I don’t know why, but I suddenly and very acutely hate her. I hope she dies. _Sansy?_ Gross. 

Sans acknowledges her with a nod and a two fingered salute, and pulls me along toward our goal. 

“Who’s that?” I ask, trying to sound only slightly curious. 

“Just a friend,” he says offhandedly. 

Just a friend, huh? That look she gave me was the look you give the girl who’s fucking your ex. 

The idea of Sans and me fucking makes me blush so hard I’m glad the light is dim in here. Just holding his hand is enough to make my heart beat alarmingly fast. Or at least...I think it’s beating. 

“Have a sit,” Sans says, gesturing to one of the stools lining the bar. I forget what I was just thinking about and hop onto the stool. 

“Watchu want?” he asks happily, handing me a menu (which has only BURGER and FRIES written on it). He’s in an oddly good mood these days. 

“Is this a date?” I ask. Usually, holding hands with someone, taking them to a restaurant, AND offering to pay would be a date. But this is a strange place, and this skeleton is very hard to read. So, although it’s against my nature to ask such an abrupt question, I look full into his face and wait for his reaction. 

“You want it to be?” he says just as easily as if he’s commenting on the weather. He’s got a smug smirk all over his face now. I try to hide by looking back down at the menu on the counter and letting my hair curtain my face. He chuckles softly beside me, but doesn’t press the subject. 

“What if I do?” I say so softly I’m hoping he won’t hear. But he always hears me. He reaches over and grabs my hand in his, giving it a squeeze. 

“Then it’s a date, doll.” 

I’m almost sure I can feel a heartbeat now. Almost. 

\---

Don’t fall asleep. Don’t fall asleep. 

I’m literally holding my eyelids open as I lay here next to a snoring Sans. We still haven’t gotten a bigger bed, so we’re squished onto his old twin bed. It’s not actually that uncomfortable, since we pretty much HAVE to snuggle all night. He’s currently got his arm wrapped around me under my shirt, his rough bone arm against my bare stomach. He’s warm, and I’m so comfy, and god dammit I’m going to fall asleep!!! 

My phone buzzes under my pillow. Who the hell is texting me at three in the morning? I flip open the phone and stare at the screen. 

Oh for heaven’s sake. 

Asriel: you up? 

Frisk: unfortunately. 

Asriel: can you do me a favor?

What? That’s weird. Usually he’s trying to convince me to meet up with him. Perhaps he’s given up, finally?

Frisk: depends. What is it?

He doesn’t reply for a full fifteen minutes, at which point I had almost fallen asleep with the phone in my hand. 

Asriel: ask your boyfriend about Toriel. 

That strikes me as odd. Whenever he talked about her around me he always referred to her as “our mom.” I guess I can’t expect him to see me as a sister after all that…

Frisk: what do you mean?

He never replies. I lay awake, wondering why in the world he would want me to talk to Sans about Toriel. I know they were friends in the other timelines, which is why she begged him not to kill me, but why would that matter now? Of course Asriel wouldn’t like Sans talking to his mom, even as Flowey. 

I mean, it’s not like they were--

I sit up in bed, awake as I haven’t been in days. Sans grunts in his sleep, his arm still loosely wrapped around my middle. 

“Oh my god!” I say loudly. That’s why he promised her. That’s why!

“You okay sweetie?” Sans mumbles sleepily. I stare down at the dark form next to me. Those little pinprick lights shine so bright, my eyes hurt if I stare straight into them. 

“Yea...yea, I just….need some water,” I say, swinging my legs out of bed. 

“Mkay,” he yawns and rolls over. 

In the kitchen downstairs, I stand and stare at the sweating glass of water I’ve placed on the smooth, white counter. My bare feet are numb against the chilled linoleum floor. 

I must have been standing here for a while, because Sans appears with a tiny _pop!_ next to me. 

“You alright, babe?” He places his hand on my back, but I shrug away from him. He looks at me with concern. I face him and try to think of how the hell I’m going to phrase this. 

“Frisk?” 

I wait a few more moments before opening my mouth. 

“In the other timelines...what was your relationship with Toriel, exactly?” I ask, trying to keep my voice calm. I think I see those little lights in his sockets jump, but I can’t be sure. He’s so good at keeping his cool. 

“She was just a friend,” he says, looking at me like he’s confused. Hmmmmmm....

Just a friend. Just a friend. Just a friend. 

The phrase echoes in my head like an alarm. 

“So...what you’re saying is...you and her were never...you didn’t sleep with her?” I rush the last part of the sentence so that I don’t chicken out. I watch his face VERY carefully. 

His eyes shift to the left, and I fucking KNOW. 

“SANS!” I shout at him, my arms snapping to my sides. 

“Frisk, come on-- not in this timeline--” he tries to reason with me. REASON. ME. 

“You slept with my MOM!!!!!” My voice is so high pitched I’m giving Alphys a run for her money. 

“Baby, it was WAY before you came along!” He’s trying to talk me down. 

“OH MY GOD!!!” I turn away from him and walk briskly from the kitchen. He’s right at my heels, digging himself into a bigger hole with his mouth. 

“What did you expect me to do, huh? Shrivel up and die down here??” he’s starts off defensive. I don’t respond, I just keep walking past the couch. His arms dart out and wrap around my middle. I lean my entire weight away from him, and it's like he’s torn between actually restraining me and just trying to persuade me to stay. 

“Frisk, you can’t be mad about this, that’s super unfair!” he pleads a little frantically. He’s basically trying to gently wrestle me back toward the couch. He could just pick me up and be done with it, but he doesn’t want to be that forceful. 

“I’m not mad! I’m just...just...weirded out!!!” I put my hands against my head and grimace. He slept with my MOM!!!!!!!!! OH GOD!!!!!!!

“I’m a grown ass monster, Frisk, and I’ve been down here WAY longer than you have. It’s not weird at all. I’m a skeleton with needs, ya know?” I can hear the smirk on his face. This mother fucker, literally. He can sense my giggle, even though I’m trying my hardest not to let it escape. His boney finger tips dig into my sides, tickling me. I shriek with laughter and crumple against him. He chuckles in relief and wrestles me to the couch. He plops down and brings me with him, sitting me on his lap. 

“Sans!” I scold him. I’m still not totally over the whole, he FUCKED MY MOM thing, but I can’t stay mad at him for very long these days. He’s just too darn cute. Damn him. I let my back rest against his chest. 

“Plus, I kinda only did it to fuck with the flower,” he sneers in my ear, like a little shit. I reach up and smack him upside the skull. He growls and bites down on my neck, pretty hard, but not TOO hard. I suck in air through my teeth and scratch at his neck bones with my fingernails. His breath catches in his throat, and his sharp fingers dig into my sides again. I squirm in his lap and he hums happily. 

“Who else have you slept with, then?” I huff, hanging onto his wrists. He relents with the tickling and takes his mouth off my neck. My skin stings where his fangs made indents. 

“Come on, now, baby, you don’t wanna know that,” he murmurs in my ear. 

“It was that bunny chick, wasn’t it? The one at Grillby’s?” I accuse. I’m not really teasing anymore. I’ve always had a strange animosity toward that bunny. 

“Hey, you can’t blame me for fuckin’ a bunny,” he squeezes my waist. He's telling the truth. 

“Oh my god!” I wail, more upset about this than him having actually fucked my fucking mom. 

“Again, this was before you came along,” he reminds me, hearing the jealousy in my voice. Even when he’s relentlessly teasing me, because he loves getting a good reaction from me, he doesn’t want to really upset me. I recognize the gentleness in his voice and I try to calm down. 

Of course he’s slept with other people. I’ve slept with other people. We didn’t know each other for most of our lives, we just happened to spend an eternity together in the same three months. Ok, not an eternity, but a long ass time! This skeleton has been my entire world for theoretical years. I’m being stupid. I’m not being fair. But…

“Did they touch you?” I ask. I didn’t mean for my voice to be so quiet. 

“Well, that’s about ninety percent of what fucking is…” he’s still being gentle, believe it or not. 

“No! I mean...like...how I…” I’m suddenly so shy I can barely get a word out. He kisses my shoulder.

“You mean my bones?” he asks graciously. I nod, a little afraid of his answer. 

“They wanted to. But I never let ‘em,” he says, getting a little shy himself. 

The weight of that statement hits me so hard I’m speechless. 

“Why did you let me?” I ask softly. I grab his hands and bring his arms around me. He holds me to him. 

“Cuz, you’re my girl.” He squeezes me. I look into his face as best I can, and my eyes have a hard time focusing on those big, bright lights in his sockets.

“Well, you’re my skeleton,” I smirk. I mean it, though, and he knows it. He holds me there for a little while. 

Crap, I’m starting to feel sleepy again. 

“I fucked Undyne once, too.” He suddenly says in a gravely voice. He’s not done giving me a hard time. 

“You did not fuck Undyne.” I say groggily, rolling my eyes. I’m not buying that one. 

“I wanted to know what it would be like, cuz she’s so tall.” I’ve never heard him reference how short he is, except under the influence of ketchup. That’s how dedicated to messing with me he is. 

“Dude, if you even got CLOSE to fucking Undyne, I’d give you a goddamn gold medal.” 

He guffaws under me and my entire body shakes with his. That means I win. 

“There’s a better chance of you fucking Mettaton than there is of you having ever fucked Undyne.” I should have stopped while I was ahead. I hear his teeth snap and his fingers dig into my sides again.

“I’m sorry, what was that? I don’t think I heard you right,” he talks loudly over my squealing giggles. 

“Sans! Stoppit!” I push at his wrists. He gives in. I relax back against him, catching my breath. 

“Besides, it’s not like you wouldn’ta fucked that goat boy if I hadn’t stepped in.” He’s still being a little shit, but there’s definitely a faint growl to his voice. 

“Stepped in? Please, you aren’t that good,” I scoff. 

“But I am, though. I won you back,” he grins smugly. 

“Oh really? And how exactly?” I’m shaking my head at him slightly. He’s such an asshole. 

“I used my best move,” his fangs glint at me. 

“On Asriel?” 

“No, no, lil’ kitten,” His voice is honey. His left hand spiders up my stomach and rests between my breasts. His fingers flex on my chest and my soul jumps behind my ribs. I look down and watch as a glowing, blue heart shape shines through my shirt. Yes, this is one of his battle moves, but I’m not in danger. It is pretty thrilling, however. 

“It’s always gonna be blue,” he says, barely audible, and I feel his soul beating against my back. I lace my fingers through his and hold his hand there, against my chest. 

“I remember the first time you did that,” I whisper. 

“Same,” he presses his mouth against my hair. 

“It’s weird that we’re attracted to each other even after killing one another several hundred times, isn’t it?” I ask, knowing the answer. 

“It’s fuckin’ crazy,” he acknowledges it. 

“But you never seemed particularly phased about that,” he comments ponderously. I shrug. 

“I just try to accept things the way they come to me,” I attempt to explain. He’s silent for a few moments, and then wraps his arms around me. 

“Yea, you really do,” he sounds so grateful. I want to tell him that he’d have captured my heart just the same no matter what he looked like, but he wouldn’t believe me. He always insists he got lucky. I’m certain that if the barrier is broken, and we go out into the world, he’ll have a veritable army of girls lusting after him. Will I still be his girl when women much prettier than I are vying for his attention? And that’ll be a lot of girls, because I’m average at best. 

“You ok, sweetie?” he asks suddenly, sitting up a little. 

“Hm?” I was lost in thought. 

“You just got sad,” he states softly. I’m caught off guard. How did he know that??

“What?” 

“Your magic, Frisk,” He nuzzles my shoulder gently. 

“Oh,” I keep forgetting to keep it in check. 

“What were ya thinkin’ about?” he pries innocently. 

“Nothing,” I say too quickly. 

“Don’ lie to me, kid,” he warns playfully, positioning his fingers at my sides again. I groan, frustrated. 

“What were ya thinkin’ about???” he asks again, this time it's a threat. When I don’t answer he chuckles and bites down on my neck.

“Ouch!” I reach my hand up to slap his skull, but his hand darts up and wraps around my wrist. 

“Tell me,” he demands, his words partially muffled into my neck. When I don’t answer, the tickling begins. 

“OK OK!” I surrender, wiggling on his lap. He stops and lets his hands run down my hips and thighs, then back up. My back arches against him and he chuckles. 

“Start talkin’” he demands, grinning, his voice low. I blush. 

“You don’t know how cute you are,” I say, letting my hair fall into my face. 

“Huh?” he’s surprised. 

“You think you got lucky with me, but you’re wrong. You’re very attractive, and once the barrier’s broken...what if…” 

“Babe, really?” he’s skeptical as hell. 

“I’m NOT the prettiest girl in the world, Sans,” I snap. He laughs and his ribs dig into my back. 

“I’m serious!” I yell at him. He moves me in his lap so that my legs are on the couch and my face is looking up into his. He smoothes the hair from my face and leans down close. The lights in his eyes are big, round, and flickering softly like an open flame. 

“If you think I’m ever gonna love anybody but you, you’re even crazier than I thought,” he smiles and shakes his head at me, like I’m the silliest girl in the world as well. 


	29. NO MORE RUNNING

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's about time Frisk faced her fears.

Alphys wanted me at the lab today, but Frisk is in one of those moods. Most days she’s just exhausted, because of the whole not wanting to sleep business. But every now and then, she gets a little….nutso. As in, she needs to be basically attached to me at the hip at all times or she spirals into a frazzled mess. 

I know, I know, she’s got some serious past issues that are coming to the surface in droves now that her magic is out, and it’s not her fault, but Jesus man. I’m not equipped to handle this amount of crazy. 

Honestly, I’m at my wits end, which is surprising, cuz I’m pretty fucking witty. 

I’m trying to study this chart Alphy’s drew up as I’m sitting at my desk, but Frisk is behind me with her arms around my shoulders, her hands tangled up in my shirt, and she’s holding onto me like if she lets go she’ll fall through the floor. Her magic is unchecked, and she’s refused to learn from me or Alphys because she’s afraid her dreams will get worse. So, that means her emotions are always out there for me to feel. 

Okay, so it’s not really stopping me from studying...but it’s distracting. And now that time is moving on undisturbed, and I’m actually learning how to be happy again...I kinda want to get the hell outta this place. The Underground, I mean. I wanna feel the sun again. I wanna go places I’ve never been before. And I wanna take Frisk with me. 

And I dunno if there really is a way to break the barrier without seven human souls, but if there’s even a chance...

“Baby, don’t you have a piano lesson with Undyne in fifteen minutes?” I ask hopefully, but very carefully. Piano lessons were actually Frisk’s idea, but now that her mental state is getting shaky, she doesn’t want to leave the house much. I haven't asked, but she must've quit the Nicecream stand. 

She groans in response. Oh boy. She’s moved past the point of words. 

“Come on sweetie, you ain’t left the house in days.” 

Her arms stiffen just slightly around me. Shit. 

“I’m annoying you,” she says sadly, stepping away from me. Fuck. 

“No, of course not. I’m just worried about ya,” I say, spinning around in my chair to face her. I hold out my arms, and she obeys instantly, straddling my lap and laying her head on my shoulder. Her arms hang loosely, almost lifelessly at her sides, which reminds me of a scene I shared with her back in a timeline I’d rather forget. 

I wrap my arms around her, and I’m shocked at how much weight she’s already lost. God, she needs sleep so badly. How am I gonna get her to listen to me? 

“Am I gonna lose you?” I ask. The words didn’t come from my brain. 

“What do you mean?” the question is defensive, worrisome, full of a fear from a past she refuses to face. I place my hands on either side of her head and coax her into looking at me. She looks guilty. 

“You ain’t taking care of yourself. If you won’t sleep, you won’t function.” I’m tryn’ as hard as I can to let my face be honest. I want her to know how worried I am about her. 

“I’m sleeping…” she’s not technically lying, to her credit. 

“Yer wasting away, little one.” I squeeze her sides, and she blushes. 

“What if I lose you? You ever thought about what that would do to me?” 

Ah, that last sentence was a mistake. I’ve hit a nerve I wasn’t even aiming for. She gets off my lap so fast I must be made of fire. 

“I’m not trying to hurt you!” she flusters, clenching her fists and looking determinedly away from me. 

“I know you aren’t, I’m sorry kiddo, I didn’t mean--” I see blue light gathering at her fists, and I can feel energy pulsing from her. 

“Fine! If you want me to leave you alone so badly, I’ll go!” she says sharply, stomping around to the other side of the room to retrieve a pair of pants from the dresser. 

“I don’t want you to go, for Christ’s sake, Frisk! Don’t freak out on me--” There I go, diggin myself into a deeper hole. 

“No, it’s fine, just go ahead and work on breaking the stupid barrier,” she fumes, gathering other articles of clothing from the floor. Her eyes are shining with white light. 

“It’s my responsibility to help Alphys try to find a way--” 

She laughs angrily. 

“You know as well as I do there’s no way of getting out of here without seven human souls. And I really don’t see why you’d want to leave anyways.” 

“You don’t see why I’d like to get the hell out of this cavern??? Do you know how long it’s been since I’ve seen the outside world??” Now I’m getting pissed, which isn’t what I was planning on, but I can’t help it. She’s being ridiculous. 

She turns to me with a face that’s been to hell and back. 

“The outside world...is a cold and lonely...and _horrible_ place. Out there, nothing matters. Out there, life is a waste of time. Out there…” 

She turns her back to me and walks to the door. She opens it and pauses before walking out of the room. 

“I hate it out there. If you want to leave, go ahead. Just don’t expect me to go with.” She steps outside into the hall and slams the door behind her. 

“OHO!” I teleport in front of her, blocking her path to the stairs. 

“Throwing a temper tantrum now, are we??” I ask, moving from side to side as she tries to get past me. 

“Stop it! That’s not fair!” she tries to push me away, which I laugh at. I’m so much stronger than her. 

“It’s not fair, huh? You know what ain’t fair? I wanna see the sun again. I wanna feel the wind on my face again.” my voice shouldn’t be this loud. I’m better than this.

“So do it! I’m not stopping you!” the hall was dark before, but magic is pouring from her eyes, bathing us in a shifting, watery, blueish light. 

“How’m I supposed to leave without you???” I ask, my anger diminishing a bit as hairline cracks appear on my heart. Now my own magic is getting dangerously close to overflowing, and I know she can feel it too. 

“Then...don’t leave. Stay down here with me…” she asks, fully aware of how selfish that request is. Fully aware that I’ll do whatever she wants. She’s my goddess. What else am I supposed to do? 

“You’re mean,” I say quietly. Her eyes widen and her magic ebbs slightly, but now, instead of mad, she’s desperate. She knows I’m right. 

“Let me pass,” she says, her voice numb. She won’t look at me. I stand here, feeling stubborn, but I lose my resolve as pieces of my heart start falling into my stomach. Finally, it crumbles, and I stand aside so she can leave me. 

\---

 

I walk quickly and stiffly away from the house, realizing too late that I forgot my jacket. Fuck it, it’s too late now. 

_You’re mean._

His voice echoes in my head, and my entire body recoils against the guilt that racks through me. 

“I am not!” I say outloud, my childish retort sending a tiny cloud up into the chilly sky. 

I don’t know where I’m going, I’m just letting my feet take me wherever they want. 

I know Sans is right. I shouldn’t be trying to keep myself from sleeping. I know I’m not doing what’s best for my mind, my body, my spirit, but…

I’m scared. I’m so fucking scared. If whatever is stuck in the back of my mind gets out, I don’t know what will happen. What if I get lost in a dream? Do I have to relive it all? 

“I can’t do that.” 

I feel like I ate a stomach full of lead. It takes me a few moments to realize I'm standing at the river’s edge. I watch chunks of ice bob lazily in the current until the boat person pulls up beside me. 

“Where shall we go today?” He or she asks. Their voice could go either way, and their hood covers their face, so I never could tell. I stare up at them, my mind completely undecided. 

“Can I just...ride with you for a while?” I ask. I can't see their face, but I'm almost sure they are surprised. 

“Company is always welcome.” They nod, and I climb aboard. 

We float along in silence. I look up at the cavern ceiling, watching it change as we travel through the different places in the Underground. This boat, or its driver, must have some sort of teleportation magic, but we aren't blinking in and out of existence. Our surroundings sort of shift blurrily as we leave one place for another. 

Of all the monsters in the Underground that I'm not close friends with, I've interacted with this boat person probably the most. And yet, I know the least about them. 

“What's your name?” I ask, feeling that I'm somehow invading their privacy. 

“Who knows?” They answer, if you call that an answer. Their ambiguity reminds me of something they said to me a long time ago, or never--since it was in a different timeline. 

_“Beware the man who speaks in hands.”_

Were they referring to Gaster? 

I shiver, even though we are now floating through Hotland and the air is pleasantly warm. 

“Did you...have you ever heard of someone named...Gaster?” 

I don't know why I'm suddenly asking them this now. Why should I bother them with such an unpleasant question? 

“Where he came from, nobody knows.” They answer cryptically. I'm not sure, but I could swear there's a note of fear in their voice. 

“You were here when he showed up?” I'm watching the back of their hood so intently my eyes are starting to water. 

“Yes. But then, so were you.” 

My muscles jump as though I've just received a fright. 

“...what?” I ask, my voice odd and empty. My mouth is suddenly so dry my tongue keeps sticking to the back of my teeth. 

“Here we are,” They say, turning to face me. 

“Huh?” 

“The place you wanted to go.” They nod toward the riverbank. 

I look around, realizing for the first time where we've gone. 

I have never, in all the time I've spent roaming the Underground, been where we are now. I've seen it from a distance, but could never find a path leading here. 

We are floating on the riverside of the abandoned, ancient, dead city surrounding the castle. I asked Toriel about it once. She said, similar to The Ruins, the city was built when Monsters first came down here. But once the “sun” was created in Snowdin, the population dwindled and Monsters left the cold, stone buildings to live in modern houses. 

“Um...thanks,” I tell the boat person. 

“The Angel, who has seen the surface, will come back, and the Underground will go empty.” They bow to me, which they've never done before. I decide not to try and reply to that one. I step off the boat onto the grey sand on the shore. 

“Come again, tra la la,” they say in a sing songy voice, slowly moving off to who knows where. Once they are gone, I feel distinctly alone. 

I move between the grey, lifeless buildings, their dark, empty windows watching me like I'm an unwelcome intruder. There's absolutely no sound except my footsteps. I expect them to have an echo, but the sound falls flat upon my ear. This place is stagnant, and the air feels thick. 

I walk down a cobbled street, feeling my back prickle eerily. It's insane. It can't be possible, but…

 _I have walked this street before_. 

I stop and close my eyes as tightly as I can. I can almost hear them, their voices laughing, talking, living. 

My eyes open and I see them. Monsters left and right, colorful and diverse, sitting outside their houses. Children play in the street. Families call to each other happily from inside the brightly painted buildings. 

I know where I am. I've been here before. My feet begin to run, turning corners they've memorized. I'm not too far away. I'm so close I can almost see...almost hear…

I skid to a stop in front of a small, but cozy, pink, stone house. And there she is, waiting for me in her flowing blue dress. 

“Frisk,” she smiles happily when she sees me and opens her arms to welcome me home. 

“Mom!” I cry out, feeling something flicker like a flame inside my soul. I run to her, but just before my fingers touch her vivid blue dress, she disappears like smoke in a sudden gust of wind. 

And so does everything else. Colors run together like a painting plunged into water. The houses, the monsters, my mother are all gone in an instant. I blink and I'm back in the grey, cold, dead present. A heavy silence returns with a finality that presses against my eardrums. 

“No!” I spin around, trying to catch sight of anything familiar--maybe a flash of color hiding within the windows now yawning at me bleakly, but there's nothing. 

_Frisk._

Grief. Sudden, intense and unbearable grief strikes me so hard I fall to my knees. 

She's gone, and I'll never see her again. 

I'm vaguely aware that my face has hit the ground, and before my vision is lost to a dark tunnel, I see an explosion of vivid blue light.

It's so beautiful, just like she was. 

 

\---

 

I shouldn't have said that. I'm such an asshole. 

I lie on our bed and try to calm down. It's been an hour and she isn't answering my texts. I've tried looking for her, but she's somehow blocking my magic. She can do that when she doesn't want to be found, although I'm not sure if she's aware of it. 

I keep checking every few minutes, but so far no luck. I sit up, letting out a frustrated growl. It was just a fight. Everyone fights. Plus, she was extra fragile from sleep deprivation. I knew that, so why did I go and make it worse? 

There’s a pounding on the door downstairs. I look to see Undyne barging her way into my house. What's the point of knocking? 

“Frisk!!” She barks up the stairs. I teleport next to her. 

“She ain't here,” I tell her grumpily. 

“She missed our lesson.” She crosses her arms, and I'm surprised to see that she's actually upset she was blown off. 

“Yea well, that ain't my problem,” I say, heading past her toward the kitchen. I need some ketchup. 

“Y'all have a row?” She perks up. She can't resist gossip. 

“Nonya business,” I say, fishing a bottle of ketchup from the fridge. 

“Argh, happens to the best of us, Tiny,” she says a little awkwardly, striding into the kitchen. Is she trying to comfort me? I turn to face her, letting the fridge door swing shut. 

“Why you being so nice?” I ask, popping the bottle cap off the ketchup with my bone thumb. It clatters to the floor and I kick it under the fridge. 

Undyne glares at me. 

“Frisk doesn't look healthy. Aren't you even trying to take care of her?” She asks. She has the nerve to sound protective. 

“Course I am! But I can't force her to do something she don't wanna do.” 

“What is it she doesn't want to do??” Undyne asks unabashedly. This woman, I swear. 

“She ain’t sleeping, if you must know.” I take a swig of the cold ketchup. It doesn't taste as good as I was hoping. 

“Why?” She's relentless. 

“Listen, that really isn't somethin’ you need to know…” I say distractedly. It's about time I checked again to see if I can find Frisk. 

“Well, tell her I'm pissed she missed our lesson. I've got better things to do than wait around for her to-” 

I drop the bottle. Ketchup and glass spread across the kitchen floor. 

“Sans!! What the hell??” Undyne shouts, trying to wipe the red sauce from her pant legs, but only making the stains worse. 

I'm stock still, my mind far from this kitchen. I'm watching as Frisk falls to her knees, and then face plants on the stones of a street she shouldn't be on. How did she get there? The ways in were shut when the city became too decrepit and dangerous for visitors. 

Suddenly a sphere of vivid blue, magic light explodes from her soul, and its shock wave destroys the buildings surrounding her like they were made of cards.

I make brief eye contact with Undyne before teleporting. I see her face for a split second as she registers the evident fear on mine. 

I kneel down and gather Frisk’s stiff body in my arms. Her eyes are open and moving frantically, like she's seeing things in fast forward. The ancient city is completely flattened in at least a five hundred foot radius around us. 

“Frisk!!” I place my hand against her face, but she can't hear me, and she can't see me. 

Whatever she’s seeing, it must be horrible, because I've never seen that level of terror in all my days...except maybe on my own face. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Y'all are so cool for coming back to read this XD I love each and every one of you. MMMMKAY byeee!!!!


	30. SHE WAS HOME

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Frisk remembers some shit.

“Frisk???” I speak inside her head. I’m listening hard for any feedback, but it’s dead silence in there. Unlike the other times she’s gone into this trance state, she’s not thrashing around. In fact, her entire body is stiff and eerily still. The only thing moving, and at an alarming speed, are her eyes. They’re shining with a blinding, blue intensity, and her face is paralyzed in a mask of absolute terror. 

I place my skeleton hand against her head and send a tiny shockwave through her brain, but nothing happens. This is bad. Without another thought, I teleport us both into Alphy’s room. She’s sitting at her desk, pouring over several sheets of white sketch paper, pencil in hand. She’s feverishly scribbling something down, and doesn't notice us. 

“Alph, I need you.” She jumps in her seat when I speak. 

She sees Frisk in my arms and scrambles out of her chair, sending several pieces of paper bearing poorly drawn anime characters floating to the floor. 

“What happened???” she squeaks, pushing her glasses back onto her face. 

“She’s been going into these weird, dreamlike trances lately--but usually when she’s asleep. Just now, though, she over magiced and went stiff. She ain’t waking up.” I explain, trying to keep extreme anxiety from shaking my voice. 

Alphys takes one look at Frisk’s eyes and says, 

“Lab, now.” 

I teleport us all into the hospital room down in the Lab, and place Frisk gently on the bed. 

“Whadya think?” I ask Alphys, who is now rushing around the small room, gathering wires and attaching them to Frisk’s body. 

“Her magic must be t-trying to unblock her m-memories…” Alphys is avoiding my gaze, which means she isn’t telling me the worst of it. I wait for her to go on. She fiddles with the dials on the electrical impulse machine and watches the little screen as it reads Frisk’s brain waves. She doesn’t look reassured. 

“Give it to me straight, doc.” I don’t know why the hell I’m trying to add humor to this situation. Maybe I’m just that worried. 

“She’s fighting her own magic...if she k-keeps at it...there could be some damage.” She looks into my eyes and I see the same anxiety there that’s currently tearing apart my insides. 

“What do we do?” I ask, racking my own brain for answers. I was the Royal Scientist for years, but a fat load of good it’s doing me now. 

“All we c-can do is w-wait.” 

I stare at Alphys, trying with all my might to keep myself from flipping out. 

“There has to be something…” I reach through the dark for any reassurance, any lifeline to connect myself to that girl lying there on the hospital bed. She’s my everything. 

“You can speak inside people’s minds, r-right?” Alphys seems like she’s been wanting to confirm this theory for quite some time. I nod, chalking that up to one more thing this dinosaur knows about me. She grins toothily, unable to help herself. 

“But I’ve already tried that. I can’t get through,” I say stubbornly. 

“I could magnify your voice, hook you up to her, I’m about eighty percent sure it would work--” She rambles almost to herself, her eyes crossing slightly behind her smudged glasses. 

“Great, let’s do it,” I say immediately, grasping at the idea desperately. She looks surprised, perhaps not used to me accepting her ideas without at least some pushback. 

“There’s the slight possibility, however, that her magic could try to attack you…” she back pedals, maybe realizing that I’m not doing my usual job, as her assistant, of keeping her experiments in check. Right now, I don’t care if it’s reckless. Frisk probably over magiced because of me, so I gotta get her out of this. 

“I’ll take the risk, thanks.” I head over to the machines I assume she will use and begin preparing for the task. Now that she’s explained it, I’m almost sure it will work. If she backs out, I know how to do it myself. 

“Hey! It was my idea, let me do it!” she snaps at me, taking the wires from my hands and pushing me out of the way. I would kiss her, but I’d like to stay on Undyne’s good side, if that’s even the side I’m on now... 

“Yer always saving my ass, Alph. Thanks.” I say sincerely. She looks over at me, her cheeks puffed. She can’t tell if I’m serious or not. 

“Nevermind that, go and fetch me the helmet we used for the failed mind reading experiment,” she instructs me, blushing. 

“Whatever ya need, Hun.” I salute her before teleporting away, smirking at the befuddled look on her face. 

 

\---

(The beginning)

Upon a tiny bed sat a very little girl. Her name was Frisk, and she hadn’t a care in the world. 

“Frisk!” her mother called from downstairs. 

“Anna is here to play!” 

Frisk put down her doll, losing any interest in it next to the prospect of playing with her best friend. She ran down the stairs and bolted out the door, running right into her friend. They laughed with their arms around each other and ran out into the yard. 

“Be back before dinner!!” her mother instructed. Frisk paid no attention. 

“I’ve got something cool to show you!” the little monster girl told Frisk excitedly. She took her hand and pulled her along, weaving between the stone houses, across the street and out by the riverside. 

“Mom told me not to come here…” Frisk said hesitantly, stopping short and pulling her hand out of Anna’s. 

“It’s ok, we aren’t going near the water.” Anna smiled. She beckoned Frisk to follow as she ran ahead, parallel to the shore, but a safe distance from the riverbank. Frisk decided it wouldn’t hurt to go with her. 

Anna stopped and crouched next to something in the sand. Frisk caught up to her and looked down at the strange, black puddle. Was it a puddle, or a hole? She couldn’t be sure. 

“What is it?” Frisk asked, feeling spooked. She didn’t want to get as near to the thing as Anna was. In fact she wanted to go home. 

“I dunno, but watch this!” Anna picked up a stick nearby and poked the tip into the black puddle. The surface did not ripple, and when she pulled the stick back, the portion that had sunk into the substance was missing.

“Don’t touch it!” Frisk said, her voice sounding somehow empty and flat. She wanted to grab Anna and pull her away from the thing. 

“That’s what the stick is for, silly.” Anna said, obviously annoyed at her always so cautious friend. 

“Let’s go back,” Frisk said, no longer caring if she came off as a scaredy-cat. 

“No, come on, it’s cool!” Anna went to put the stick into the hole again, but Frisk grabbed her arm and tried to pull her away. 

“Stop it!” her monster friend objected angrily and pulled her arm out of Frisk’s grasp. 

Frisk watched with horror as her friend lost balance, and the hand that shot out to stop herself from hitting the ground went straight into the black puddle instead. 

Even though she knew it was hopeless, Frisk grabbed at Anna’s shirt. But within seconds, the shocked and afraid monster girl was pulled into the hole and swallowed up by the pitch dark substance. Frisk backed up several steps, her eyes frozen on the spot where her friend should be. 

“Anna?” she called out, her voice so small. 

“ANNA!!!” But she knew, no matter how she would scream and scream, her best friend was gone forever. 

Something inside her burst, and a wild, rushing heat spread throughout her entire body. A bright blue light suddenly surrounded her, and even through her terror, she was awed at its brilliance. She felt, inexplicably, it was there to help her. 

But then the puddle started to move. It bubbled and boiled, like molten tar, until it grew upward. It rose higher and higher into the air, growing sickeningly into the form of a tall, impossibly thin man wearing a long, white coat. Frisk’s feet were frozen to the ground. The blue light around her flickered feebly as he gazed down upon her with a serene smile on his terrible face. 

“My, my. What do we have here?” He spoke, his hands signing rapidly. 

She knew what came next, but she couldn’t let it happen. She wouldn’t remember. 

She refused!

But the blue light around her pulsed painfully, and the scene around her changed against her will. 

She was shackled inside a cage. She was in the dungeon, underneath the castle. That was where the demon worked in secret.

A short, strangled scream of agony somewhere close by made the blue light still surrounding her shiver like a leafy tree in a light wind. Frisk placed her hands over her ears, trying so hard not to hear what was happening next to her. 

“Please! Let her go! She’s just a child!” Her mother begged hysterically. Her once beautiful, flowing voice had become ragged and jarring. 

“Very odd. A child born of monster and human. And it possesses magic! Very interesting, indeed,” he mused, his evil, metal instruments clinking together as he continued his research on the monster woman.

“Oh, please...please let her go…” 

The tall man in the white coat turned to look at the miracle in the cage, whom he would begin experimenting on once his current subject was no longer usable. 

“It’s never been done, what she is. Her powers are like nothing I’ve ever seen, in all my travels.” 

“Just a child…” a voice so weak it was only a rasp, only a shivering whisper that Frisk would try with all her might to forget. 

Another scream rang out, and Frisk felt sick to her core. 

“Yes, and she might be just what I need.” 

The light flashed white, and the scene changed again. 

“Come now, my pet. Struggling will do you no good.” 

Frisk fought helplessly against his entangling arms, trying so hard to get back to the broken form on the stone table. 

“MOMMY!!” She screamed. The body that used to be her mother jerked a little, as though dreaming, but did not answer her cry. 

“She won’t even notice you’re gone.” 

“NO MORE! NO MORE!!” she screamed against the memory. 

The blue light turned to fire and swirled around Frisk like a strong, violent wind. The pain inside her head was so intense she thought she might throw up, but she didn’t care. She’d rather lose herself than remember it all. She shut her eyes and refused to let her magic win.

“FRISK!” said a voice that didn’t belong there. 

“Frisk, can you hear me??” 

She opened her eyes to find that the world was frozen around her, as though she were in a movie and someone just hit pause. 

“Come on, baby, answer me!” 

She knew that voice…

“Sans??” Frisk called out, suddenly remembering her favorite little skeleton. “Sans? What’s going on?” 

“You’re remembering your past,” he said, almost apologetically. 

“...oh.” Frisk understood. “I don’t want to,” she said, clenching her teeth together so hard her jaw groaned against the pressure. 

“You have to, or your magic’s gonna hurt you,” Sans explained sadly. 

Frisk hung her head and began to cry. 

“You can do this, sweetie, I know you can! I’m right here, right next to you, holding your hand, Okay??” he promised. 

“OK,” she said softly. 

“That’s my girl,” he said proudly. “Don’t fight your magic. Let it do what it’s gotta do,” he instructed. Frisk nodded, feeling less than confident. 

“And remember, it isn’t real,” he reminded her. Easy for him to say. 

“Ready?” he asked. 

“No, but fuck it,” Frisk answered. She heard him chuckle, and her surroundings unpaused. 

This time the memory was vivid, but not so lucid. She was still experiencing the past, but she could feel Sans’ presence surrounding her like a shield. She was still afraid, but in her core was something good, and real, and steady, and she grasped onto that feeling as tightly as she could--because her life depended on it. 

She was inside the time machine, attached to it by a cluster of thin, bronze wires. She was strapped against the wall so that she couldn’t move a muscle. 

Gaster stood just feet from her, turning dials and pressing buttons on a control panel built into the wall. 

“It's risky...but this is my only option. Her magic, her determination...yes, it should be enough,” He muttered. She could always hear him, though he never made a sound. 

He looked her over one last time, making sure each wire was in place. Their eyes met briefly, but he only ever saw her magic, her determination, her power. He forgot about her spirit. 

He reached up to grasp a lever sticking out of the wall. He seemed to steady himself for whatever was about to happen, and a thrill of fear gripped Frisk by the heart. 

_It's not real,_ she told herself. 

As soon as the lever came down, that familiar pain ripped into Frisk’s back to drain her soul. She screamed, and Gaster’s eyes flashed with triumph as they hurtled through time and space in the cold, loudly humming, metal box. 

But then, something went wrong. Frisk’s magic burst forth to form a shield around her soul. She stopped screaming and the machine began to malfunction. 

“What??” Gaster rasped. He began hitting buttons and flipping switches frantically. When that didn't work, his eyes fell on Frisk. She stared back at him defiantly. 

“You'll kill us both!” He snarled, reaching for her with his hands made of dripping black ooze. 

But he never touched her again. 

Frisk’s magic pushed him away, and he slammed into the opposite wall. Her restraints fell to the ground, and the many, tiny wires were ripped from her body. As Gaster stood trapped, pinned against the wall by the force of her glowing blue shield, she stumbled forward to grip the handle to the door of the time machine. 

“NO!!” Gaster screamed, fear and anger twisting his face as he fought helplessly against her magic. 

Frisk pushed with every ounce of strength she possessed until the handle turned and the door swung open. 

She was immediately sucked out of the machine and thrown into chaos. How long she fell through space, through time, through existence and non existence, she never knew. But then, in the darkness, she saw a bright yellow, golden light--almost like a star. She reached out and caught it in her hand. The next moment she landed, face down, in cold, wet mud. 

She pushed herself up into a sitting position and looked around her. She was in a forest, probably around autumn, judging by the color of the leaves on some of the trees. She wandered for hours through the trees, alone and shivering. 

And then, from the trees emerged a family of three, hiking through the woods. They had been camping there, in the forest by the mountain. 

“Are you lost?” Asked the startled woman. Frisk had always wished someone else might have found her that day, but then her heart warmed when she saw the face of the teenage girl standing between the man and woman. 

And for the first time in quite a while, she missed her adopted sister. 

Time skipped forward, and Frisk found herself lying in the hospital, her arms heavily bandaged. The bed was cold, but she remembered that in the real world, a skeleton was holding her hand, cheering her on, and the tiny flame inside her soul grew a little brighter. 

“Sans?” she called out.

“Still here baby. I can kinda hear what’s going on,” he said, sounding a little guilty. Frisk smiled at that, but then she realized who was holding her hand in the memory. She bristled with hatred, wishing she could move her arm. 

“It's a miracle you survived. You lost so much blood, you should be dead,” her adopted mother said callously as she sat by Frisk’s bedside. Frisk wanted to lash out at her, to claw that fake, self satisfied frown from her face. 

_She isn't real,_ thought Frisk. The skeleton monster who loved her more than anything or anyone, he was real. 

“And it's a good thing you're still alive. You know you would have gone to hell, right Jenny?” The woman reminded her again. 

“Christ, what an asshole,” Sans observed, clearly annoyed. Frisk began to laugh, and as soon as she did, she was free. 

She woke up in a hospital bed, not in the town she used to live in, but down in the Lab. She’d never particularly liked the place, but she couldn’t be happier to be back. She saw Sans sitting on the bed with her, wearing a helmet with a bunch of thick wires protruding from the top. He looked so ridiculous with it on, she began to laugh even harder. 

“Is she, um...alright?” asked a high pitched, nasally voice from somewhere in the room. Sans looked down at the girl on the bed, like he wasn’t sure of the answer. 

“I told you,” Frisk gasped through uncontrollable giggling, grabbing onto his skeleton hand with both of hers, “I AM home!” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you all for commenting such wonderful things! you're all amazing. :)


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